REGIONAL healthcare provider Columbia Asia has implemented an upgraded version of its Hospital Management Information System (Care 21) at the Columbia Asia Hospital Puchong to boost operational efficiency and customer services.

The integrated client-server application covers a wide range of hospital administration and management processes.

According to Columbia Asia’s senior communications manager, corporate communications Nur Saidah Said, Care 21 has enabled the hospital to cut waiting time by half, and reduced paperwork by 100 per cent for outpatients and 90 per cent for inpatients.

“What makes the process paperless and smooth are the electronic medical files of patients that doctors can call up at a push of a button.

“During the consultation process, the doctor will enter his diagnosis and progress notes. The doctor is able to order the necessary lab tests, radiology scans and prescriptions directly from his computer. Even at the waiting area, there are plasma screens showing a patient’s queue number, which are managed by the nurses and doctors themselves.”

The Columbia Asia IT division built the Care 21 operating system over an eight-year period, borrowing from the knowledge and needs of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and accountants in the company.