The Health Establishment Management System (HEMS), a licensing software that shows healthcare facilities and authorized services in one place, has been inaugurated.

The software was inaugurated by Madam Sajida Mohamed, the wife of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, at the official ceremony marking World Patient Safety Day today.

The purpose of HEMS is to provide online information about registered healthcare facilities in the Maldives, the people working in these facilities, and the health services authorized to be provided there.

At the ceremony, Health Minister Abdullah Nazim said that this service is one of the things to be done in the health sector to implement the Digital Maldives 2.0 policy targeted by the ministry's administration.

"Through this platform, the registry of service centers in the Maldives, operating licenses, and the list of health professionals will be digitalized. The World Health Organization's 2024 World Patient Safety Report highlights unsafe care as the biggest problem in healthcare. It also notes that 12% of substandard care leads to permanent disability or loss of life," the Health Minister said.

The Minister also highlighted that according to the report, unsafe care causes three million deaths annually, of which half could be prevented. He added that the report shows 134 million "adverse events" occur annually in low and middle-income countries, resulting in 2.6 million deaths per year.

"Countries enact laws on the use of medical equipment and implement safety standards in healthcare facilities. Mandating the licensing of healthcare facilities is also an important strategy countries use to ensure safety. Therefore, I consider the licensing software inaugurated today as an important step taken to ensure the quality of services provided in the Maldives," Nazim said.

At the ceremony, it was announced that the Patient Safety Pathway of the Joint Commission International (JCI), an international health organization, will be established in 3 hospitals in the Maldives. These are IGMH, Dharumavantha Hospital, and Addu Equatorial Hospital.

This is a system to determine if patient safety is ensured according to World Health Organization standards.