In 2024, Meir Medical Center opened a new, advanced emergency medicine department spanning approximately 6,000 square meters, making it one of the most innovative in Israel. One of the department's highlights is its cutting-edge technologies and computing systems developed specifically for staff and patients to ensure optimal management. Two of these systems were recognized in the competition.
“These are two unique monitoring systems for Meir Medical Center that alert clinicians in high-risk decision-making situations,” explains Reut Geller, head of the IT, Computing, and Operations Unit at Meir Medical Center, part of the Clalit Group. “The system that won in the Digital Transformation category is a discharge alert system for the ER. It flags critical lab tests still pending or tests with abnormal results before the patient is discharged. Each system also includes an investigation and control tool that helps us learn from it—an invaluable tool that aids doctors in making the right decisions under pressure in real-time and often supports decisions to keep patients in the ER for further observation. This significantly improves the quality and safety of medical care,” she adds.
The second system, which won in the Special Projects category, is called “Code Argaman,” named after Dr. Natan Argaman, an anesthesiology specialist at Meir Medical Center. It was developed to quickly identify deteriorating patients to provide the most accurate care through the intensive care team. “The system is based on an algorithm we created using the British NEWS (National Early Warning Score) index. It evaluates a range of parameters and assigns a score between 0 and 14. A score above 7 indicates a patient at risk of deterioration, and the higher the score, the greater the concern,” Geller explains.
“The system continuously updates and monitors patient data in real time during their stay in the ER. If a patient’s score exceeds 7, regardless of their treatment stage, an alert is triggered on four 24/7-staffed computers, signaling close attention due to potential deterioration or suspected septic shock. This system is based on extensive data analysis showing that most of these patients eventually require intensive care. The goal is early intervention by the intensive care team, freeing up the ER for other cases. Another feature allows the ER shift manager to declare an initiated ‘Code Argaman’ for critical patients with the press of a button. This code is automatically sent and triggers an alert at the 24/7 operations center, which then activates all relevant parties, including an intensive care doctor and nurse. Depending on the situation, it may also activate imaging services, operating rooms, and other resources,” adds Geller.
“The technical brilliance of these systems is their transparency—they run entirely in the background and activate automatically. They continue working even if a computer is restarted or shut down and don’t disrupt staff during critical moments. No one needs to enter passwords or credentials to activate them, but they respond immediately when needed. Building a system requiring frequent authentication would have reduced its use. This way, we guarantee 100% usage and ensure no one is missed,” emphasizes Geller.
Meir Parinti, Administrative Director at Meir Medical Center, part of the Clalit Group, said, “I am extremely proud of the exceptional achievements of the IT, Computing, and Operations Unit. This unit is a center of excellence, breaking boundaries and leading in technology. Together with other administrative units such as operations, logistics, engineering, maintenance, and management, they provide a robust operational and technological framework that supports clinical activities. Our medical teams know that the supporting framework provides them with the most efficient, safe, and advanced tools to deliver the highest quality medical services.”
“I always tell our teams that we are here to ensure they work as comfortably, safely, and efficiently as possible and to help them practice better medicine. It’s a great source of pride to develop such significant tools within our unit and help save lives,” concluded Geller after the ceremony.