Sultan Qaboos Comprehensive Cancer Care and Research Centre celebrated the launch of the Health Information System (HIS) as part of the trial operation of the centre. It’s an advanced and integrated system for managing medical information in health institutions, to be applied for the first time in the Sultanate, which was implemented in partnership with Diyar United Company, a leading technology company in the field of information and communications technology.

Dr. Zahid Al Manthari, head of the SQCCCRC’s Informatics Technology Committee, said: “The Health information system (HIS) greatly contributes to supporting the decisions taken by the medical team to treat cancer patients. Through the system, chemotherapy doses are easily scheduled and patients’ appointments are organized between the Radiology Department, the Laboratory, Theater Unit and Endoscopic Department in integration with nutrition services and patient care services.”

Al Mandhari added: “The system is characterized by high flexibility that allows doctors and care givers to break away from the tether of a desk. The medical reports are written through the same system anywhere without the need for the doctor to be in the office, the patient also enables to access to his Medical file and view examinations and data.”

Dr. Issa Al Qarshubi, Head of Advanced Endoscopy Unit, indicated that despite the challenges forced by Corona Pandemic, the first phase of the project was completed in a record period of no more than 6 months, in partnership with Diyar. The system was developed with the needs of the center, its departments, and various services, according to the standards of The Joint Commission International (JCI) for the accreditation of health facilities.

For his said, Bashar Atout, CEO of Diyar United Company, said: “SQCCCRC is one of the most modern centers in the region, with its modern equipment and application of the latest automated systems for managing medical centers. Diyar United Company is honored to be a partner in the implementation of integrated information systems for the management of the center with all its technical and nursing services and patient relations. The company has achieved great success in the application of hospital management systems from the international company SAP, and Diyar United Company has employed all its accumulated experiences over 40 years, and has followed the latest methods and methodologies in the application and management of systems in order to achieve administrative and technical excellence for SQCCCRC medical facility.”

Dr. Rashid Al Sakiti, Senior Consultant Radiologist, added: ” As we all know, the radiology department is one of the most reliant on the availability of an integrated information system. Praise be to God, the integration of radiology information systems PACS and center information systems (HIS, EMR) was completed within a very short period of time. The complete integration between HIS and PACS radiology information systems has helped provide a high degree of health care, due to easy access to patient reports and radiographs from any system within the center and making appropriate treatment decisions.”

Bushra Al Lawati, Specialist Pharmacist at SQCCCRC explained: “the vision of the centre is to move from paper-based Oncology and Chemotherapy Orders to a fully electronic system to go paperless. The main benefits of using HIS system in oncology is to improve the quality of clinical care through the reduction of medication errors and following treatment plan with more accurate documentation. Being a research center, this will also provide robust data for clinical research.”

“The implementation required a lot of effort and dedication from various parties and we worked closely with Diyar and SAP Cerner to build our oncology module for which they provided the infrastructure for Chemotherapy ordering and scheduling and also support for sterile compounding as well as any restriction or ordering privileges,” Dr. Bushra assured.

Dr. Huda Al Owaisi, Head Nurses added: “We are also working towards a patient-centered approach where patients have privileges to access their personalized electronic records through the HIS system. This will enable patients and their families to be in control of their healthcare needs. This portal also bridges the gap between healthcare providers and patients. This is the beginning of a long journey and an effective partnership, and we are sure that the center’s team and the Diyar team will achieve the best in facilitating the lives and care of patients.”