MORE than 4,000 patients at the community hospitals will be able to enjoy better patient care, improved drug safety, fewer repeat tests and lower medical costs when the Electronic Medical Records Exchange (EMRX) is extended to this cluster in the first quarter of next year.

First off the block is the Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan (AMK-THK) Community Hospital, which has linked up the medical records of patients who visit the public healthcare institutions, including public hospitals, specialist centres and polyclinics.

With the extension of the EMRX, doctors in the community hospital can now access the electronic medical records of patients who have been referred from any Restructured Hospital (RH).

Similarly, when a patient from the AMK-THK Community Hospital is referred back to an RH, the doctor there will also have access to the electronic medical records.

For the pilot project, information on Hospital In-patient Discharge Summary and Medicines prescribed are shared with EMRX.This means better integrated and seamless care for patients.

Diagnosis and treatment also become faster.

Mr S. Vivakanandan, CEO of Ang Mo Kio - Thye Hua Kwan Hospital, said: 'The close partnerships that Community Hospitals and Restructured Hospitals already enjoy, now go one step further with the EMRX system in place.

Having ready access to the medical information of referred patients enables us to provide our patients with continued, quality care.'

The extension marks the first step in the Ministry of Health's plans to extend the EMRX beyond the public sector.

The EMRX will be extended to the other Community Hospitals - Bright Vision Hospital, Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital, St Andrew's Community Hospital and St Luke's Hospital - by the first quarter of 2008.

'The extension of the EMRX beyond the public sector will strengthen the integration of care across the healthcare sector,' said the ministry in a statement on Wednesday.

It gave the assurance that patient confidentiality is strictly maintained as only doctors and healthcare professionals who are bound by the law and professional ethics will have access to patients' electronic medical records.