HMC receives international recognition for early warning system to help monitor patients

Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has been recognized for its outstanding delivery of care to patients with the introduction and implementation of the Qatar Early Warning System (QEWS) - a threshold based system where clinicians receive alerts when a patient’s condition is deteriorating at a significant rate requiring rapid clinical intervention.

HMC has won the “Healthcare Implementation of the Year” award for its QEWS implementation at the recently held 12th Annual Arabian Computer News Arab Technology Awards which recognizes outstanding work that has been carried out in the Middle East’s enterprise market over the past 12 months.

Designed and developed on the foundation of the ‘Between The Flags’ program, which was developed in Australia, QEWS was introduced at HMC at the end of 2015 and adapted to meet local clinical requirements. It has been deployed across all eight HMC tertiary and general hospitals and has been proven to deliver substantial benefits to patients as well as the healthcare professionals committed to care for them.

Speaking about the implementation of QEWS, HMC’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Mike Richmond said an important framework for achieving the objectives of the system was put in place across all HMC facilities.

“Since QEWS was introduced, there have been huge contributions from a significant number of people across the organization in terms of planning, education and training. They have also been able to link it to the implementation of electronic medical records as it empowers medical and nursing staff to respond in a timelier manner to patients who are at risk. The system is designed to make sure the best care is given as early as possible for patients who need prompt intervention,” Prof Richmond said.

Dr. Ibrahim Mohamed Fawzy Hassan, Director of Medical Intensive Care Unit and Deputy Medical Director, Ambulance Service at HMC, further explained that QEWS was developed to help medical staff recognize deteriorating patients before they become very sick. “Once you have the system in place, it’s clear to the nurses and everyone involved in patient care that the patient needs help. This will activate the rapid team response to ensure that the affected patients are treated early. We have demonstrated that by implementing this program effectively, we can decrease the sudden deterioration of patients significantly.”