Created as a Public Private Partnership between the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DOH) and Injazat Data Systems, a subsidiary ultimately of Mubadala Investment Company, Malaffi is the region’s first Health Information Exchange (HIE) platform.
Being a universal, Emirate-wide initiative, Malaffi will safely and securely connect all public and private healthcare providers in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, enabling the meaningful, real-time exchange of important patient health information between healthcare providers – ultimately creating a centralised database of unified patient records.
Previously, providers operated on individual Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems, which meant patient information remained in silos within the boundaries of each provider’s EMR and was not accessible to other attending providers.
Through Malaffi, providers – and the industry as a whole – now have unmatched opportunities to continue improving care in a way that has never been feasible on such a scale before. This means the platform allows providers to source crucial healthcare data that will be used to improve the coordination of care and allocate healthcare resources more efficiently to ultimately advance patient outcomes and support the provision of world-class care across the Emirate.
Benefits to healthcare providers
Through Malaffi, almost 2,000 Abu Dhabi providers will be able to access crucial patient medical information; ultimately enhancing the quality of healthcare and improving patient outcomes. The safe, secure and meaningful exchange of important patient health information brings many benefits to providers, including increased workforce satisfaction as a result of easier access to comprehensive, timely health information.
Most importantly, the platform brings together key patient data, including patient demographic information, medication, allergies, laboratory and radiology results, procedures and much more; all recorded at the different providers across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. As such, Malaffi facilitates better care coordination and transition of care, better-informed decision making at the point of care, and improved management of chronic illnesses and emergencies.
With providers having more information about their patients, they can reduce the unnecessary duplication of diagnostic and treatment procedures, which in consequence increases efficiency, patient experience and satisfaction. For example, in the U.S., the implementation of a HIE system resulted in a 12 per cent reduction in consultations by multiple physicians, a 7 per cent reduction in the emergency department length of stay, a 4.5 per cent reduction in readmission odds within 30 days1 , and a 25 per cent decrease in the odds of imaging procedures being repeated2.
Similarly, in Finland – over a five-year period – there was a reduction of over 43 per cent in primary care referrals to specialist care, and a 16 per cent reduction in the number of radiology examination within primary care3.
Malaffi’s benefits are countless and elevate healthcare standards across Abu Dhabi, as essentially, a patient’s medical information is critical to making all the difference between a correct diagnosis or an incorrect one, and it can ultimately save lives, especially in an emergency.
Elevating healthcare standards across Abu Dhabi through Malaffi
H.E Mohammed Hamad Al Hameli, Undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, said: “We are firmly committed to providing the very best healthcare solutions and technologies to the people of Abu Dhabi. In line with our future-forward vision, we are proud to see a series of milestones for Malaffi in its journey to utilise technology to improve patient outcomes. This is a shared goal across the Emirate, evident through the active participation of leading healthcare providers, both private and public, to adopt the new Malaffi system. We look forward to more milestones in the coming months as we create a better-connected healthcare system and ultimately a healthier Emirate.”
Malaffi’s progress update
At present, the Malaffi database contains more than 38 million patient records for more than 3 million patients, who are being treated and their care managed through Malaffi by over 15,000 doctors and care teams utilising the platform. To date, 1,732 facilities in Abu Dhabi have signed the Participant Agreement, and 406 facilities have been onboarded, with many more in the pipeline. Some of the onboarded providers include Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), Mediclinic Al Noor Hospital, Kanad Hospital, UEMedical Group, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and Healthpoint.
During 2020 Malaffi will be launching a patient mobile application to help patients better manage their health. Once logged onto the portal or by downloading the app, patients will have their own medical information at their fingertips.
To learn more about Malaffi and preview the patient app, visit the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi stand (Hall 5, Booth H5.B10) or log on to https://www.malaffi.ae/en/.
References
1. Janakiraman, R. et al. (2017) The Effects of Health Information Exchange Access on Healthcare Quality and Efficiency: An Empirical Investigation. Mays Business School Research Paper No. 2915190.
2. Vest, et al (2014), Health Information Exchange and the frequency of repeat medical imaging, Am. Journal of Managed Care,
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3. Maenpaaet al. (2011) Outcomes assessment of the regional health information exchange a five‐year follow‐up study. Methods of Information in Medicine, USA, Rochester, New York ↓ 25%Odds of Imaging Procedure being Repeated *Vest, et al (2014), Health Information Exchange and the frequency of repeat medical imaging, Am. Journal of Managed Care.
