Asan Medical Center becomes 1st in Asia to achieve HIMSS Stage 7 INFRAM Certification

Asan Medical Center said Wednesday that it has become the first hospital in Asia to receive the highest level of certification, Stage 7, in INFRAM, an evaluation model for healthcare organizations' digital informatization infrastructure.

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) of the U.S. is a highly respected organization that works to improve and streamline the healthcare system by applying information and communication technology to healthcare and certifies the digital informatization level of healthcare organizations with the goal of improving the quality of healthcare and patient safety, according to the hospital.

The organization recently announced the revised Infrastructure Adoption Model (INFRAM), which strengthens the existing evaluation criteria and adds the application of the latest technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence (AI). Asan Medical Center became the first hospital in Asia to be certified at Stage 7.

Last September, Asan Medical Center was certified to Stage 6, and it jumped to the highest grade in about three months.

In addition to the existing questions, the Stage 7 certification included interviews with medical staff and IT managers to measure the experience of actual users, evidence of best practices, and leadership involvement in pursuing digital transformation.

Asan Medical Center was highly evaluated in acquiring various global certifications related to information security, building an excellent information protection awareness culture among employees, optimizing resources by analyzing the effectiveness of IT investments, and managing IT infrastructure based on real-time data.

“Asan Medical Center has established and operates a digital medical information system to create a future medical environment based on digital healthcare and has implemented digital innovation in various fields, such as business process automation (RPA), digital pathology system, mobile personal health record service, and precision medical system,” said Dr. Kim Young-hak, a professor of cardiology and the head of the hospital’s Digital Information Innovation Headquarters.

Professor Kim added that the hospital will continue to actively develop various digital services to improve the quality of medical care and strive to create a patient-centered digital hospital that integrates cutting-edge technology.