Abu Dhabi's AI-powered Patient Safety System now links all hospitals

Abu Dhabi is enhancing its commitment to patient safety through an artificial intelligence-powered system that identifies risks before they manifest. The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH) recently announced that the system now encompasses 100% of hospitals and various healthcare facilities, including long-term care centers, dialysis centers, and fertility centers, serving over 60,000 users.

This comprehensive system integrates patient safety data across the healthcare sector, offering a broader view of risks and safety trends.

Moving from a reactive stance to a proactive stance, the system supports a shift from reacting to incidents post-occurrence to predicting and preventing potential issues, thereby enabling timely preventive measures and improved patient care. The system, the first of its kind in the region, harnesses sector-wide healthcare data to detect patterns and early indicators of patient safety risks, facilitating immediate action to mitigate potential harm.

World Patient Safety Day, which this year emphasizes "Safe Care for Noncommunicable Diseases," highlights the system's progress. It now connects all Abu Dhabi hospitals and additional healthcare settings, improving data accessibility and analysis. By equipping healthcare professionals with comprehensive patient information, the system enhances decision-making and encourages knowledge sharing among professionals, ultimately leading to better care outcomes.

The system's implementation has significantly reduced the time needed to report risks, saving over 2,000 hours of staff time and allowing more focus on patient care. Moreover, it aids in healthcare-system-wide planning by identifying common safety patterns across facilities, prioritizing areas for improvement, and guiding related initiatives. Data analysis from the system has informed improvements in various safety-related areas, in collaboration with healthcare providers.

During its first year, the system collected over 70,000 patient safety-related cases, with a substantial portion representing early warning signals. These insights help care teams understand factors contributing to patient safety risks and implement preventive measures. The system also contributed to an improvement in healthcare professionals' safety culture, rising from 68% to 73%, surpassing international benchmarks by 21 percentage points.

This progress indicates a shift towards a workplace environment that fosters learning, data utilization, and continuous improvement.

Looking ahead, DoH plans to expand the system's scope, aiming to integrate more healthcare facilities in the upcoming phase. This expansion will further bolster Abu Dhabi's proactive approach to patient safety, ensuring safer care for all residents and visitors.