Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs is First in World to Earn C-COMM Stage 6 Validation

Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs - King Abdulaziz Medical City Riyadh has achieved validation at Stage 6 on the C-COMM maturity model, making it the first organization worldwide to attain this milestone.  

HIMSS unveiled the newest maturity model last year, focusing on the digital maturity of care in non-acute care settings, such as primary care, telehealth, maternal and child wellness, and mental health. 

A total of 39 KAMC clinics were assessed in five different specialties: allergy and immunology, dialysis, mobile health care services, multi-specialty clinics and primary care. On March 4-8, a sample of 8 facilities providing a multitude of non-acute services were evaluated on the optimization of their digital infrastructure and its ability to create meaningful relationships with their populations, cater to personalized needs and use population health management approaches to innovate new tech-enabled care models. 

KAMC successfully showcased consistent workflows and use of their EMR across their facilities through their case studies. The hospital system showed how they used referrals and e-consultation workflows between primary and secondary care to optimize resources, decrease low value specialty care, avoid over-referrals and losing patients in the systems between primary and secondary care levels of care.  

They also used technology to execute screening and preventive programs beneficial to their populations, which were not feasible before due to its resource-intensive nature.  

The Stage 6 validation further strengthens MNGHA’s commitment for leveraging information technology to improve patient care and elevate the quality of healthcare services. “It’s about the intelligent application of these technologies to make healthcare more accessible, efficient, and effective,” said Dr. Raed AlHazme, MNGHA’s CIO. “We are committed to leveraging digital health to continue transforming healthcare delivery and patient care."  

“The one overwhelming highlight (of this validation) is the commitment of this organization to place the patient at the very center of everything that they do,” said John Raynor, director of Analytics at HIMSS.  

MNGHA’s CEO H.E. Dr. Bandar AlKnawy reinforced their commitment by stating: “Our focus remains on improving patient care and inspiring sustainable healthcare innovation for the future." 

In 2022, the Saudi Arabian healthcare system became the first quadruple Stage 7, earning validations in the HIMSS EMRAM, OEMRAM, AMAM and DIAM maturity models, making them the most digitized hospital system in the Middle East. Most recently, they were recognized as the first hospital in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to achieve a revalidation at Stage 7 on the modernized EMRAM model.