Hospital Information System “BESTCare”
What the Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs is witnessing in the era of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, from the construction and development of medical cities and health centers Kingdom wide, imposed a long-term process that demanded commitment on the support services, particularly the health information systems, so much so to keep pace with this rapid development. There is no doubt that certain difficulties might rise when trying to replace an existing health information system with a modern one. A system that depends on an advanced software and diverse techniques to be applied in an organization the size of the Ministry of National Guards - Health Affairs, which could encounter administrative, manpower and technical challenges.
The Health Information System "BESTCare" project was implemented through several stages, beginning with an intensive search for a system that meets the requirements of Ministry of National Guards - Health Affairs, and at the same time, such system shall adhere to the requirements of international standards, In addition, the possibility of internalizing / localizing such system in order to bring out a copy that will meet the requirements of Saudi Arabia and serve the MENA region.
After an extensive research, a major international South Korean company was selected, in order to acquire and localize the hospital information system which will ultimately be in line with the local health needs through Saudi expertise, to start working on reaching a milestone in implementing health systems.
BESTCare aims to contain the patient's medical history through an electronic medical record that starts from birth, in addition to patient interactive self-services, which also provides a package of services after personal verification by either a fingerprint, smart card or the medical record number, to learn more about the appointments and the clinic location map.
What distinguishes BESTCare is its usability and functionality in covering all health centers requirements featuring a unified database, smart phones application, e-consent, in addition to improving communication between doctors and patients and providing educational tools for physicians, trainees and patients. Most importantly, BESTCare promotes “smart hospital” approach by electronically exchanging clinical documents, electronic services to support decision-makers of health-care providers towards patient-centered care.
Initially, BESTCare has successfully went live in the central region, Riyadh represented by King Abdullah Specialist Children's Hospital and King Abdulaziz Medical City early this year in January 2016, followed by the Go-Live in the western region in King Abdulaziz Medical City – Jeddah in May 2016. In August 2016, the BESTCare Go-Live took place in Prince Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz Hospital - Al Madinah Al Munawwarah . Moreover, before the official Go-Live in all regions, Real Situation Simulation technique has been applied by the BESTCare team parallel to a support team and a call-center in order to provide technical support and follow-up of the system around the clock to all NGHA Health practitioners to avoid all obstacles and guide users in all facilities to improve the provided health services.
Last but not least, the BESTCare Go-Live for the eastern region, in both King Abdulaziz Hospital - Al Ahsa and Imam Abdulrahman Al Faisal Hospital - Dammam went live in December 2016.