Dubai: Dubai’s unified electronic medical record system, Salama, went live on Friday at five health institutions, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) announced on Saturday.

A smart project that aims to centralise access to records for patients and doctors across DHA facilities, the first phase of the system has gone live in Rashid Hospital, Barsha Health Centre, Airport Medical Centre, Dermatology Centre and Dubai Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Centre.

According to the DHA, more than 1.4 million DHA patient medical records and more than 12 million transactions have been transferred to the Salama system so far.

To ensure the smooth transition to the new electronic system, patients are requested to provide their Emirates ID, medical card and health insurance details.

Humaid Al Qutami, Chairman of the Board and Director-General of the DHA, visited Rashid Hospital and Barsha Health Centre on Friday to oversee the launch of Salama,

During his visit on Friday, Al Qutami oversaw the first Salama registration of patients, and said that patients will only have to register one time during their first visit to benefit from Salama.

Following the completion of the registration process, every patient registered in these centres will have one integrated medical file across all facilities that will help the doctor follow a treatment protocol in the event of a hospital transfer and to ensure homogenous treatment.

Al Qutami said the implementation of this project is a vital milestone for the DHA to achieve the authority’s and Dubai Government’s ambition to move towards a digital health-care system.

Dr Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, Director-General of the Smart Dubai Office, said the Salama Electronic Medical Record marks a radical shift in the region’s electronic health services, one that resonates with the forward-thinking vision of the UAE’s leadership and its future outlook and aspirations to establish Dubai as the happiest city in the world.

The Salama project will bolster effective doctor-patient communication, she added, and will facilitate the establishment of a comprehensive database that economises time and effort, all the while providing sufficient medical information about patients.

She added that this strengthens the overall infrastructure of the health sector in Dubai and will eventually lead to ensuring customer satisfaction and achieving sustainable development.

Amani Al Jasmi, Director of Information Technology at the DHA, said in the second phase which will roll out in August, Salama will be implemented in Dubai Hospital, Dubai Diabetes Centre and all Primary Health Care Centres. And in the third phase in November, Salama will be implemented in Latifa Hospital, Hatta Hospital, Thalassemia Centre, Dubai Gynaecology and Fertility Centre and all DHA Medical Fitness Centres.

She said unifying records would help create a more streamlined and better health-care delivery system that would ensure patient safety and accuracy.

She added that 11,000 DHA employees will be trained to use Salama, and the 60 employees who have worked on implementing Salama were trained in the UAE and in the US by international company EPIC.

While Salama integrates medical records electronically in DHA-run health-care facilities, it is just steps away from facilitating a national unified electronic medical record, Al Jasmi said.

Once DHA completes all the phases of Salama, it will integrate with ‘Nabid,’ the national electronic medical record system.

In two years, the integration will allow every resident to have one integrated medical record in the UAE.