June 28,2024

Netcare Group's Digital Transformation: Enhancing Patient Safety and Engagement

Dr. Richard Friedland, Chief Executive Officer of the Netcare Group, announced the launch of a transformative 10-year strategy aimed at revolutionizing healthcare. This strategy focuses on improving patient safety and engagement by integrating digital innovations that empower patients to actively participate in their health and well-being.

In our healthcare ecosystem, digital technology and the rich, personalized data it provides are essential to continually enhancing crucial outcomes for patients. This commitment to better outcomes and improved longevity defines Netcare's journey.

With data-driven, digitally enabled healthcare, clinical decision-making will be optimized and accelerated, significantly benefiting patient treatment. Up to 60% of hospital prescribing errors result from misinterpreted doctors' written scripts. Electronic scripting eliminates these errors by ensuring legibility and accuracy.

The introduction of IBM Watson Health Micromedex at Netcare checks all drug dosages, interactions, duplications, and allergies electronically, helping to eliminate up to 60% of potential medication errors across more than 1.8 million in-hospital prescriptions annually. Early indications suggest that the internal rate of return on the digitization project will exceed 21% annually.

Netcare's development of the CareOn system has rapidly advanced the digital skills of nurses and doctors, making the company the largest customer for Apple iPads in Southern Africa. With over 13,000 iPads in use across 45 Netcare hospitals, the most significant challenge was technology adoption by healthcare workers. Anticipating difficulties, especially for nurses unfamiliar with computers, Netcare introduced basic training using games like Candy Crush to ease the transition.

Importantly, CareOn is fully mobile, making Netcare one of the few providers offering clinicians live access to patient records away from the bedside and outside the hospital. Developed over seven years, CareOn currently has over 34,000 users across seven provinces in South Africa. The system was tailored to meet the precise needs of Netcare's end users by 40 dedicated workstreams in South Africa, Germany, and India.

Gerhard Weiss, Director of Strategic Projects and Systems Integration at Netcare, emphasized the project's positive impact on patients' lives in Netcare hospitals. He acknowledged the national effort put into developing the electronic medical records system and the necessary infrastructure and training for its large-scale implementation in South Africa.

The innovative digital system allows specialists and healthcare teams to view patients' clinical information, test results, and vital observations remotely and in real time through the digital integration of medical equipment and devices in ICUs and operating theatres. This technology frees up nurses' time for patient care and minimizes potential human errors with a range of automatic safety checks. Integrated data from medical equipment seamlessly feeds into the electronic medical record, enhancing overall efficiency and safety.