ROYAL Philips, a global leader in health technology, has announced it has teamed with the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Saudi Arabia to provide a first of its kind integrated Cardiovascular Information System (CVIS) across multiple facilities throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Patient medical information will be available on demand at the point of care in each one of the connected hospitals to help improve quality access to cardiology care managed by a network of specialists. The Philips CVIS includes advanced software technology and image analysis to simplify cardiovascular data management for cardiology departments to work more efficiently and accurately. According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the number 1 cause of death globally. They are also highly prevalent in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Cardiology is also one of the most complex areas of the hospital enterprise, with large quantities of data generated by various caregivers across multiple locations along the care pathway. By integrating disparate cardiology systems in the public MOH cardiac centers around the kingdom, the Philips CVIS can help reduce data entry, simplify access to test results generated in other departments, and make it easier, to acquire, analyze and share patient data. The cardiology patient data information will be powered by Philips IntelliSpace Cardiovascular platform, featuring advanced archiving from the Philips Universal Data Manager (UDM) and advanced visualization from Philips IntelliSpace Portal. Seamless data sharing and connectivity between the hospitals will be managed by Philips Forcare, delivering Information health exchange (IHE) interoperability. "With a dedicated Healthcare IT Clinical Informatics team and leadership in connected care, Philips brings a wealth of experience into the Cardiology program of the MOH," said Ozlem Fidanci, Market Leader Middle East & Turkey at Philips. "This collaboration named as Project Taji, marks a significant step by the Ministry of Health towards Saudi vision 2030 and the elevation of cardiology services across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." Taji Project will be implemented in the cities of Mecca, Jeddah, Al Hafouf, Qaseem, Jizan, Najran, Dammam and Arar. All these cities will be connected to the Ministry of Health in Riyadh to utilize Tele-Cardiology Services among MOH Cardiac Centers. "The primary use of telecardiology is to support primary care practitioners in the area of correct diagnosis, thus empowering them to manage cardiac patients with increased confidence. It also improves the clinical training of the average practitioner, by increasing the clinician's level of knowledge at primary level. This will equip GPs to offer better care and improve the overall healthcare system." Said Dr. Ahmed Balkhair, Advisor to the Vice Minister and the General Supervisor of e-health Programs and IT. "The MOH Tele-cardiology initiative helps build up an integrated Cardiovascular Information System (CVIS), Cardiac Picture Archiving and Communications System (CPACS), and an ECG Data Management System. All of which will enhance the efficiency of the Cardiology workflow for the Cardiologists and all users, and access to patient studies by authorized users from anywhere inside or outside of the network," said Dr. Mohammed K. Abdulaali, Assistant Deputy Minister for Hospital Affairs. Philips IntelliSpace Cardiovascular supports seamless integration with the full Philips Cardiovascular Informatics portfolio including TOMTEC, Xper IM, IntelliSpace Portal and IntelliSpace ECG. In supporting Philips' commitment to interoperability and open systems, IntelliSpace Cardiovascular also interfaces with multiple third-party applications, including scheduling systems, lab applications, and specialty PACS. This comprehensive insight helps reduce the time and frustration related to accessing multiple systems and allows clinicians to search for specific information – like previous test results – across systems in a single workspace. By aggregating all of this data, clinicians are able to make more informed decisions and better collaborate with peers, while having a seamlessly integrated experience.
