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Abu Dhabi: Malaffi, the Abu Dhabi Health Information Exchange platform, announced the joining of the healthcare group VPS Healthcare and the first two clinical laboratory networks – National Reference Laboratory (NRL) and MENALabs, by signing the Participant Agreement. This comes after the recent announcement that two major UAE healthcare groups, Mediclinic Middle East and NMC Healthcare, have also joined Malaffi.
Malaffi is the region’s first Health Information Exchange (HIE) platform, that will securely connect all public and private healthcare providers in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to create a unified patient record and to improve healthcare quality, as well as patient outcomes.
Malaffi will house different types of patient medical information, collated from different Abu Dhabi healthcare providers, including allergies, diagnoses, medications, laboratory and radiology reports, clinical notes, and other. Laboratory test results inform the majority of medical decisions and are among the main types of information centralised in Malaffi. Access to the longitudinal records of patients’ laboratory results, collated from the different on-site and referral laboratories, presents vital information for physicians and will undoubtedly enhance reliable and timely diagnosis for patients in Abu Dhabi.
Mohamed Al Hameli, Undersecretary of Department of Health, commented: “At the Department of Health, we strive to remain a leader in patient experience and to continue enhancing healthcare quality standards while ensuring the sector’s long-term sustainability. We are proud to welcome
VPS Healthcare Group and the first two network of clinical laboratories to the Malaffi network. We are confident that the system will be a central platform for facilitating information exchange among health facilities in the Emirate, and will continue elevating the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery in the Emirate.”
“We are glad to welcome the new Malaffi participants – VPS Healthcare, National Reference Laboratory and MENALabs to the Malaffi network. The participation of these providers will increase the value of information available to healthcare professionals through Malaffi, affording improved patient outcomes,” said Atif Al Braiki, the Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Health Data Services, the operator of Malaffi.
“We believe that the Malaffi platform will enable all healthcare providers to manage their data more efficiently,” said Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil, Chairman and Managing Director of VPS Healthcare that operates Burjeel, Medeor, LLH and Lifecare hospitals and clinics in the UAE.
“These data sets will also be of great value for stratifying populations to achieve public health priorities and recommendations, while at the same time empowering patients and ensuring they are equal stakeholders for their health and well-being,” he added.
“This will also allow us to produce actionable insights to improve patient outcomes. As healthcare delivery in the UAE evolves, we need data for everything from managing increasing medical costs to providing personalised medicines for complex conditions.”
“NRL is proud to be one of the first laboratories to join Malaffi. We truly believe Malaffi will help elevate patient experiences and support the making of timely clinical decisions by reducing unnecessary duplication of laboratory tests. As a network of ten laboratories across the UAE and the biggest laboratory network in the Middle East, accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), NRL has been investing in advanced IT systems. Thanks to this we are in a great position to be among the first providers to implement Malaffi for our Abu Dhabi-based laboratories,” says Abdul Hamid Oubeisi, Chief Executive Officer of NRL.
“In addition to centrally storing patients’ clinical information and laboratory tests results, another great benefit of Malaffi is enabling the enhanced practice of precision medicine. At MENALabs we specialise in genetic tests, which are a very important prerequisite for precision medicine. This common goal brings us together and is why we are especially honoured to be among the first laboratories in Abu Dhabi to join Malaffi,” said Zerela Henry, Chief Executive Officer of MENALabs.
As provided in the DOH Policy on ADHIE, the DOH seeks to ensure that all licensed Healthcare Facilities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi participate in Malaffi. All Abu Dhabi healthcare facilities are expected to begin utilising Malaffi by the end of 2019.
All healthcare facilities need to verify their scheduled deadlines in the full launch schedule posted on Malaffi’s website - https://www.malaffi.ae/en/launch-schedule.html. For more information, providers can contact the Malaffi Onboarding Team at onbaording@malaffi.ae.
About Department of Health (DOH)
The Department of Health – (DOH) is the regulatory body of the Healthcare Sector at the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and ensures excellence in Healthcare for the community by monitoring the health status of the population. DOH defines the strategy for the health system, monitors and analyses the health status of the population and performance of the system. In addition, DOH shapes the regulatory framework for the health system, inspects against regulations, enforce standards, and encourages adoption of world – class best practices and performance targets by all healthcare service providers in the Emirate. DOH also drives programs to increase awareness and adoption of healthy living standards among the residents of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in addition to regulating scope of services, premiums and reimbursement rates of the health system in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. For more information visit www.doh.gov.ae.
About Malaffi
Malaffi - the Abu Dhabi Health Information Exchange, is the region’s first Health Information Exchange platform, that will securely connect all public and private healthcare providers in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to create a unified patient record and to improve healthcare quality and patient outcomes.
Malaffi (Arabic for ‘my file’), is operated by Abu Dhabi Health Data Services - Sole Proprietorship LLC (ADHDS), established as part of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) between the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DOH) and Injazat Data Systems, a subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, and the Middle East leader in information technology and digital transformation services.
Malaffi is part of the DOH’s strategic priorities, including the promotion of health informatics and eHealth, and is a key component in the digital transformation of the healthcare system in Abu Dhabi.
With universal, Emirate-wide participation of facilities and patients, Malaffi will facilitate the meaningful real-time exchange of health information between healthcare providers, healthcare professionals and government authorities.
Providing instant access to the patient’s medical history, Malaffi will enhance transition of care and care coordination, reduce overutilisation and duplication of tests and procedures and will enable the practice of precision medicine.
As a centralised database of robust population health information, Malaffi will inform and drive the DOH’s public health initiatives for a healthier Abu Dhabi.
For more information, please visit www.malaffi.ae.
Media contact:
Reem Al Ajeel
Senior Account Executive
Hill+Knowlton Strategies
Tel: +971 50 7083353
Reem.Alajeel@hkstrategies.com
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