Tokyo and Seoul, September 13, 2012
Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Korea Ltd. today announced the development and immediate availability of EGMAIN-KF, a medical information system package for small- and medium-sized hospitals in the Republic of Korea featuring integrated electronic medical record (EMR) system(1) and ordering system(2) capabilities.
In addition to EMR and ordering system functionality, EGMAIN-KF is equipped with a host of features needed in a clinical setting, as well as the ability to share medication and care treatment plan information for each patient among medical staff. It also includes a feature that checks drug administration regimens in accordance with the information maintained by the Korean government on the proper use of pharmaceuticals. The system offers superior maintenance features, can easily support revisions to insurance laws and other rules and regulations, and comes with a collection of tools to support daily system operations.
In accordance with revisions to its healthcare laws in 2011, the Korean government reformed its system for medical institution certification. Under these reforms, the degree to which a hospital uses its medical information system and the system's ability to flexibly handle frequent changes to insurance laws and other rules and regulations have been newly added as an evaluation criteria. Moreover, the new system is not only applicable to large-scale general hospitals, but its applicability has been expanded to encompass ordinary general hospitals and small- and medium-sized hospitals.
As a result, there has been a rapid increase in the need for advanced ICT infrastructure, even among small- and medium-sized hospitals. At the same time, the functionality of EMR and ordering systems currently deployed by such hospitals has for the most part been confined to the digitization of clinical records. Current system offerings require considerable upfront investments, and it has been a challenge for them to support maintenance and frequent changes to insurance laws.
To address these issues, and to enable small- and medium-sized hospitals to easily and inexpensively deploy advanced medical ICT infrastructure that has to date only been feasible for university hospitals and other large-scale institutions, Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Korea are releasing the EGMAIN-KF medical information system package.
Fujitsu Korea has developed cutting-edge EMR systems in Korea, particularly for large-scale hospitals, and boasts a deployment track-record at over 15 hospitals. Going forward, the company will harness EGMAIN-KF and other leading-edge ICT technologies to expand the scope of its business beyond large-scale hospitals to small- and medium-sized clinics, in addition to helping to improve medical service in Korea and contributing to advancements in medicine.
Key Features of EGMAIN-KF
1. Comes equipped with a variety of features needed in a clinical setting
With EGMAIN-KF's form creation function, users can directly create display screens for the electronic medical record system and the ordering system. As a result, necessary clinical data can be digitally formatted and shared in a way that is best suited to the unique characteristics of each hospital or medical department, enabling significant improvements in the quality of care and treatment.
In addition, by cross-referencing with the information on the proper use of pharmaceuticals and drug administration regimens maintained by the Korean government, the system has a built-in feature that enables drug administration regimens to be checked, thereby helping to prevent medication errors.
Moreover, accumulated clinical data records can be utilized to efficiently generate materials for research, statistics, and evaluation for certification.
2. Offers flexibility to handle changes to insurance laws and other regulations, and conforms to new medical institution certification regulations
In 2011, reforms were implemented by the Korean government to the system for certifying medical institutions with the goal of improving the quality of medical care and having hospitals deliver high-quality services that ensure patient safety. The system reforms add the degree to which a hospital uses its medical information system and the system's ability to flexibly handle frequent changes to insurance laws and other rules and regulations as new criteria for evaluation. At the same time, the certification program was expanded from large-scale hospitals to encompass both ordinary general hospitals, as well as small- and medium-sized hospitals.
To be able to flexibly handle frequent changes to insurance laws and other rules and regulations, EGMAIN-KF stores information related to a hospital's internal operational processes, such as changes in reimbursement for medical services or changes in the out-of-pocket costs to be borne by patients, in a database, rather than implementing the information in the software program's code. As a result, changes to rules and regulations can be quickly and easily handled simply by changing the data, without having to change the program, thereby conforming to the new certification system.
3. Facilitates daily system operations with a suite of tools and support structure
From the design phase, the system was developed with an emphasis on standardization and modularization, making it exceptional in terms of the maintenance required after system deployment.
In addition, smooth system operations are supported by features that automatically monitor performance and errors. Moreover, as an optional service, Fujitsu Korea can directly monitor a customer's system, record problem areas of the system, and propose ways of refining the system. These services help to prevent system problems and quickly resolve them if they occur.
4. Contributes to the environment via digitization
By digitizing medical records that had previously been paper-based, a typical hospital that sees 1,500 outpatients per day can reduce its CO2 emissions by 5 tons per year(3).
Pricing and Availability
Pricing and Availability
Product Name |
Pricing (excl. tax) |
Availability |
EGMAIN-KF |
By quotation |
September 13 |
Sales Targets
Deployment at 70 medical institutions by the end of fiscal 2015 (Fujitsu's fiscal year ends March 31).