Sultan Bin Abdulaziz City achieves HIMSS EMRAM Stage 7 in digital health milestone for Saudi Arabia

Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City (Sultan City), one of the largest non­profit rehabilitation and medical facilities in the Middle East, has attained HIMSS EMRAM Stage 7, the highest level of digi­tal maturity for electronic medical record adoption recognised by the Healthcare In­formation and Management Systems Soci­ety (HIMSS).

The designation places the 510-bed Ri­yadh-based facility among a select group of healthcare organisations worldwide to have achieved a fully paperless clinical environment, underpinned by advanced analytics, comprehensive data gover­nance and interoperability across care settings.

A decades-long transformation
Established by the late Crown Prince HRH Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz and officially inaugurated on 30 October 2002, Sul­tan City occupies an area of one million square metres in the Banban district north of Riyadh. The institution has treated more than 1.1 million patients drawn from across the Middle East, providing surgical, rehabilitative, therapeutic and supportive services through an integrated, multidisci­plinary care model.

Sultan City’s pathway to Stage 7 re­flects a sustained programme of clinical leadership, governance reform and in­vestment in integrated digital infrastruc­ture. Among the technology partners contributing to this transformation is In­terSystems, whose TrakCare platform un­derpins core clinical and administrative workflows across the organisation.

Clinical integration and decision support
Validation of EMRAM Stage 7 confirms that Sultan City has achieved comprehen­sive digital integration across its clinical environment. This includes fully electron­ic documentation, closed-loop medication management, advanced clinical decision support, and the capacity to apply health data toward continuous improvement in care quality and patient safety.

The unified electronic health record environment gives care teams a com­prehensive view of patient information spanning clinical, administrative and operational domains, supporting more informed decision-making, improved care coordination and greater efficiency throughout the patient journey.

Alignment with national health strategy
Sultan City says that the achievement supports the Kingdom’s healthcare trans­formation agenda and aligns with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, illustrat­ing how digitally enabled care models can improve patient outcomes, enhance safety and drive operational efficiency. The or­ganisation indicated that Stage 7 status provides a foundation for further innova­tion, including the expansion of data-driv­en and predictive care approaches.

Dr Abdullah Bin Zarah, Chief Execu­tive Officer of Sultan City, said: “This achievement reflects the dedication and collaboration of our teams across all dis­ciplines. Achieving HIMSS EMRAM Stage 7 reinforces our commitment to delivering world-class, digitally enabled care and supports our ambition to contin­uously improve patient outcomes through innovation.”

Ali Abi Raad, Managing Director for the Middle East, South Africa and India at InterSystems, said: “We are proud to contribute to Sultan City’s digital transfor­mation journey. This milestone highlights the importance of collaboration and inte­grated technology in supporting health­care organisations to achieve sustainable, high-impact progress.”

The achievement positions Sultan City as a benchmark for digital healthcare matu­rity in the region, and is presented as further evidence of progress toward a modern, data-driven health system in Saudi Arabia con­sistent with international best practice.