In line with the ongoing efforts to enhance patient experience and improve the quality of healthcare and patient outcomes in Abu Dhabi, Malaffi, the region’s first Health Information Exchange (HIE) platform and a strategic initiative of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DOH), announced recently that all public and private hospitals in the Emirate are now connected to the platform. This is an important milestone towards allowing healthcare providers to safely exchange important patient health information in real-time, creating a centralised database of unified patient records.
In addition to all 59 hospitals, 1,100 clinics and medical centres and 380 pharmacies are now connected to the platform. Now over 39,600 doctors, nurses and other members of staff from the 1,539 healthcare facilities across Abu Dhabi have secure access to Malaffi and are enabled to make better-informed and more efficient decisions.
Malaffi provides easier access to medical records in which helps healthcare professionals to save the time and trouble of transferring previous medical records and avoid undergoing the same tests. The platform enables healthcare facilities to be more efficient and better coordinated providing safer care across all the emirates. Malaffi collates 559 million unique clinical records of medical information such as patient visits, medical conditions, allergies, procedures, lab results, radiology reports, vaccination records, vital signs, and medications.
Since the launch of Malaffi over two years ago, the DOH has supported the development of the platform as it plays a pivotal role in the digital transformation of healthcare as part of its strategy committed to adopting digital solutions that support the advancement of the sector in the emirate.
Dr. Hamed Ali Al-Hashemi, Advisor to the Chairman of DOH, said: "Malaffi is one of the most prominent and innovative programs launched by Abu Dhabi to advance the healthcare sector as it continues to adopt digital technology and achieve the highest levels of efficiency and effectiveness regarding the sector. Today, we have been able to develop a pioneering healthcare system that is in line with the most advanced systems in the world. We will continue to work in line with Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 to achieve a healthy society and consolidate the emirate’s position as an incubator for innovation and distinguished digital initiatives, which will positively affect the health and well-being of all members of society.”
Atif Al Braiki, the Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Health Data Services, the operator of Malaffi, said: “Connecting 100% of hospitals in Abu Dhabi to be able to access and share important patient data through Malaffi in under three years is a major accomplishment. Our mission to enable a safe and secure exchange of patient health information across the entire sector is now closer than ever. I am personally glad to see the wide recognition of the value of connected healthcare for the delivery of better care, especially during the pandemic. We are grateful for the support of the DOH and the entire healthcare sector that have been crucial to this success. We look forward to further support the communities of the emirate on their journey to good health, happiness and prosperity.”
DOH continues to lay a solid foundation for a future based on technology, innovation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the emirate’s healthcare sector through a series of initiatives and programmes such as The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab, TIP Healthcare Innovation programme Awards, Abu Dhabi’s Workforce Health Management System, Population Risk Management, COVID-19 Predictive Modelling and Capacity Planning Tool along with other digital platforms.
