Business
Seoul-based Asan Medical Center (AMC) has been validated for Stage 7 of the new iteration of the HIMSS Infrastructure Adoption Model (INFRAM), a first among hospitals in Asia-Pacific.
The new INFRAM24 assesses a healthcare organisation’s infrastructure maturity based on cybersecurity, adoption, sustainability, performance, and outcomes. The previous framework evaluated the areas of mobility, security, collaboration, transport and data centres.
WHY IT MATTERS
AMC completed the validation for the highest INFRAM stage within four months since it was validated for Stage 6 in September. AMC initially underwent the INFRAM assessment to gauge its IT infrastructure maturity. For Stage 7, AMC evaluated their governance, systems, case studies, and actual outcomes, collaborating across departments and focusing on best practices to meet HIMSS’ requirements.
HIMSS validators noted the hospital’s forward-thinking approach by adopting outcomes-based assessments and strategic use of cost-benefit analyses in major IT implementations.
From 2023, AMC implemented an IT infrastructure modernisation strategy, which involves cloud migration and server virtualisation, to streamline operations and enhance performance.
The hospital consolidated its physical servers into virtual machines, which reduced its hardware footprint and simplified infrastructure management. According to AMC, this resulted in approximately $1.43 million in operational cost savings.
It migrated core applications to the cloud to prepare for a flexible infrastructure.
Overall, its IT modernisation saw costs related to hardware, software, and maintenance reduced with savings reinvested into business growth and innovation.
As part of its ongoing IT modernisation, AMC said it would complete the construction of its configuration management database and systematically track cost-benefit analyses post-technology implementations.
THE LARGER TREND
Fellow Korean hospitals, Samsung Medical Center and Seoul National University Hospital, are currently validated for Stage 7 and Stage 6 of the previous INFRAM, respectively.
Just last month December, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou was also validated for Stage 7 of the old INFRAM, alongside being validated for Stage 6 of the HIMSS Digital Imaging Adoption Model.
ON THE RECORD
“Achieving Stage 7 of the HIMSS INFRAM24 signifies that Asan Medical Center has established a world-class digital healthcare environment. This significant milestone in our IT modernisation journey is an international recognition of our secure, efficient, and future-oriented IT infrastructure, serving as a cornerstone for our future digital transformation strategies,” explained Dr Young-Hak Kim, director of AMC’s Digital Information Innovation Headquarters.
Dr Kim says the new framework can help raise the international competitiveness of a hospital organisation. It also contributes to improved patient safety and quality of care through digital-based services, increased efficiency for healthcare professionals, and enhanced customer service support. It also supports hospitals in leading the future healthcare market through continuous digital innovation.
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Clora Roberie