Abu Dhabi Health Services Company, (SEHA), the UAE’s largest healthcare network, is strengthening its Group Practice Model by integrating adult haematology and oncology services from Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC), a flagship tertiary hospital in the UAE and the largest teaching medical center in Abu Dhabi, with Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC), one of the UAE’s largest hospitals for serious and complex care and a joint-venture partnership between SEHA and Mayo Clinic.

SEHA’s new comprehensive Hematology and Oncology centre, located at SSMC, will combine the legacy of SKMC and international expertise of SSMC to provide patients with unparalleled standards of healthcare delivery and enhance patient access to primary and specialty care across specialties.

By adopting a Group Practice Model, SEHA is leveraging the scale and comprehensive expertise of its network to ensure widespread access to expert care for patients and a culture of knowledge- sharing that allows professionals to work closer as one cohesive team, leveraging each other’s strengths and capabilities.

Dr. Tarek Fathey, Group Chief Executive Officer, SEHA, said: “SEHA’s ultimate vision is to provide the highest quality of care and services to the people of the UAE and the wider region. As we support the UAE leadership’s ambition of transforming the healthcare industry to deliver best-in-class treatment services, incorporating the
latest technology and innovation, we have a clear strategy that includes streamlining
services across facilities, improving efficiencies, and creating renowned centres for the provision of specialist and holistic care. This is an integral part of our journey towards the future in establishing a modern, progressive network fit for the next 50 years and beyond.

“By adopting a comprehensive, integrated and collaborative approach, haematology and oncology patients will now receive multidisciplinary care with a more pronounced focus on talent acquisition and treatment methods through our partners at Mayo Clinic, to elevate the patient experience and ensure a seamless continuum of care.”

As part of the service line integration, SSMC’s haematology and oncology department will expand to include a 30- bed inpatient unit, 8-bed apheresis unit, and a new division of transfusion services.

The only haematology-centric fellowship program in the UAE, which was formally offered at SKMC, is also being transferred to SSMC. The department will also be establishing a comprehensive Stem Cell Transplant Center at SSMC.

Dr. Naser Ammash, Chief Executive Officer, SSMC, said: “SSMC is accelerating full speed towards its mission of setting new benchmarks for medical care and treatment in the Emirates and the wider region. At the heart of our mission is patient care, and in efforts to respond to the country’s haematology and oncology needs, we are pleased to join forces with SKMC’s remarkable talent and expertise to strengthen the network’s collective offerings to patients, adding to the mix Mayo Clinic’s world renowned prowess.

“We are steadfast in our promise to build the capital’s future Life-Science and Innovation hub that involves significant advancements in medical practice supported by research and medical education. By uniting SEHA’s powerful network and Mayo Clinic’s international expertise, we are reinforcing our focus on SSMC’s strategic priorities and inching closer towards our collective overarching vision of establishing the next Mayo Clinic destination medical centre in Abu Dhabi for the care of the most complex and seriously ill patients.”

Following the integration of services, SSMC will provide extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) cancer treatment and care for acute haematology and leukaemia. The hospital’s Hematology and Oncology Department, led by Dr. Shahrukh Hashmi, Department Chair of Hematology & Oncology and former Director of BMT LTFU/Survivorship Clinic at Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, will offer an interdisciplinary range of services and treatments in one location and with best-in-class expertise.

UAE’s MoHAP, EHS launch International Telemedicine Service under Visiting Consultants Program

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) and the Emirates Health Services (EHS) have launched an International Telemedicine Service, which falls within both entities’ plans to develop a Visiting Consultants Program and help patients and doctors get remote 2nd opinion consultations in critical conditions.

UAE citizens can use the new service when visiting their attending physicians at any of the 16 hospitals where a doctor from outside the country is visually contacted to take medical advice. Accordingly, information on the patients’ visits shall be recorded and regularly updated on the system by the ministry’s and EHS’s doctors.

Dr. Mohammed Salim Al Olama, MoHAP Undersecretary and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Health Services (EHS) noted that the International Telemedicine Service falls within the ministry’s and EHS’s efforts to speed up the transition to digital health technologies, implement innovative models in preventive health practices, and enhance the telemedicine service in order to reduce infection, provide innovative solutions and services, and benefit from the medical expertise brought in by the Remote Visiting Doctors Program.

Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al-Sharif, Director of the Visiting Consultants Office, said that the
international telemedicine service allows patients to utilize the medical expertise of
consultants from several countries across the world. He hailed the sophisticated
technology infrastructure of the hospitals, adding that the new telemedicine service
will provide a preliminary diagnosis and healthcare consultations in coordination
with medical teams of MoHAP using medical apps on smartphones and other AI-
based tools.

He noted that the decision to resume the Visiting Consultants Programme amid the prevailing Covid-19 challenges aims to mitigate the suffering of patients and improve their quality of life. It will also help in reducing the burden of their traveling abroad for medical services, he added.

Dr. Sharif noted that the service aims primarily to provide diagnostic and therapeutic services to patients and boost the capacities of medical teams of the hospitals. The service focuses on the most-needed medical specialties to meet patients’ needs, using an digital platform that was designed to enable the seamless exchange of data between various internal systems, in full compliance with patient confidentiality and digital safety standards.

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi reaches 150 organ transplant milestone

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has reached a milestone of performing more than 150 transplants since the introduction of its multi-organ transplant program in 2017.

The UAE’s sole multi-organ transplant centre, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi performed the UAE’s first heart, liver, lung and pancreas transplants. In addition, the hospital’s transplant centre recently began performing complex dual transplant surgeries, a first in the UAE. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has now performed 82 kidney transplants, 52 liver transplants,
10 heart transplants, 6 lung transplants, 3 combined pancreas and kidney transplants and a combined kidney and liver transplant.

“It is humbling to see the life-changing impact our transplant program has had on patients and their families across the UAE. That we have reached this 150 transplant milestone during Cleveland Clinic’s centennial year is a fantastic acknowledgement of the legacy of innovation and patient-centred care we are continuing here in Abu Dhabi. When we opened our doors just five years ago, we couldn’t have imagined our transplant program would have touched so many lives this quickly,” said Dr. Bashir Sankari, Director of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s transplant program.

Despite growing numbers of registered organ donors, demand continues to outpace supply and there remains a long waiting list of patients who require a transplant. In order to mitigate the impact of this and offer a fresh lifeline to patients waiting for a new liver, the hospital’s multidisciplinary transplant team worked with their colleagues at Cleveland Clinic in the United States to introduce complex living related liver transplants that enable relatives to donate part of their liver to family members in need.

The introduction of living related liver donation has meant that 22 patients have been able to access life-saving transplants without needing to wait for a compatible donor organ to become available. The impact of this introduction has spread beyond the UAE, with patients travelling from abroad to access living related transplant services. Recently, a 14-year-old patient travelled to Abu Dhabi from Sudan so that he could receive part of his brother’s liver.

“The introduction of living related liver donation has been a huge boost to some of the country’s sickest patients. We are building on that success with the introduction of combined organ transplants that see patients receive two new organs in a single surgery. We are very proud to be among just a handful of centres in the world able to offer this highly complex level of care that has the ability to completely transform a patient’s life, particularly when a pancreas transplant frees a patient from the need for daily insulin injections,” said Dr. Luis Campos, director of the liver transplant program and head of hepatobiliary surgery at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Mubadala Health to acquires 60% stake United Eastern Medical Services

Mubadala Health, the integrated healthcare network of Mubadala Investment Company, has acquired a 60% stake in United Eastern Medical Services (UEMedical) from Jadwa Investment and United Eastern Group (UEG). UEMedical owns and operates multiple hospitals and clinics specializing in women’s health, family medicine, paediatrics, fertility, eye care, dentistry and dermatology in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Through this acquisition, Mubadala Health adds Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women & Children; the HealthPlus Network of Specialty Centers; HealthPlus Fertility, the largest IVF provider in the region; Moorfields Eye Hospital Abu Dhabi; and a stake in Al Meswak Dental Group to its network. The new services added to the Mubadala Health network include fertility & IVF, obstetrics, neonatology, and paediatric subspecialties.

Hasan Jasem Al Nowais, Chief Executive Officer of Mubadala Health, said: “Over the past decade, UEMedical has witnessed tremendous growth and success, operating facilities that have raised the bar in patient care across multiple specialties. This acquisition enhances Mubadala Health’s network in the UAE and the wider GCC region, while demonstrating our unwavering commitment to transforming the regional healthcare landscape by delivering a full range of healthcare services covering every
phase of a patient’s life.”

Ahmed Ali Al-Shorafa Al-Hammadi, Managing Director of UEG, added: “As founders of UEMedical, we are proud of what UEMedical represents, and of our role in the evolution of the health sector through well-established accredited hospitals and clinics in various specialties. While it is not easy to exit what we have built, I believe Mubadala Health provides the best ecosystem to allow it to flourish.

We wish Mubadala Health all the success in achieving their vision of a world-class healthcare ecosystem in the region.”

The transaction is anticipated to close by September 2021. Mubadala Health’s network currently includes Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Healthpoint, Imperial College London Diabetes Centre, Amana Healthcare, National Reference Laboratory, Capital Health Screening Centre, and Abu Dhabi Telemedicine Centre. Following completion, Mubadala Health’s portfolio will include more than 10,000 world-class caregivers delivering 100+ service lines across 15 prominent healthcare providers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

KSA’s International Medical Centre to unify EMR with cloud-based platform

The International Medical Center (IMC), a leading multi-disciplinary hospital and the first member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network in Saudi Arabia, has launched a project to unify its electronic medical record system across its facilities in Jeddah using InterSystems TrakCare.

TrakCare will be implemented in IMC Hospital, Petro Rabigh Clinic, The First Clinic, Tadawi Center, and First Scan.

The Electronic Medical Record (EMR) project kick-off was announced during a ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Jeddah in June.

“We are committed to delivering patient care the IMC way, with empathy, compassion, mercy, and divine ethics. We see this technology advancement as an enhancement to our core values. This will enhance the patient care abilities of our caregivers and significantly improve the patient experience. We aim to adopt global best practices and standardize patient care using this robust and proven EMR,” said Dr Walid Fitaihi, CEO & Chairman of International Medical Center.

Dr Khalid Alem, Deputy CEO of IMC, commented: “It will be an exciting journey for us to adopt the new EMR. TrakCare will enhance IMC’s cloud footprint in line with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s cloud- first strategy, as we will become the first hospital to use cloud-based EMR. This also will support us with our future growth and expansion programs. The standardization of EMR is critical for this project’s success as it strikes a perfect balance between optimum technology and enhanced patient care.”

TrakCare, with its unified Revenue Cycle Management and clinical capabilities, will automate the hospital operations and enable IMC to deliver quality patient care and improve customer satisfaction profitably. Furthermore, TrakCare has recently added a mobile, touchscreen- enabled user interface to optimize the user experience and other enhancements that support better healthcare decision making.

IMC will implement “TrakCare as a Service”, which is a private cloud-based healthcare information system that follows an OPEX model based on subscriptions. TrakCare will integrate IMC’s administrative, clinical and financial data into a unified system, providing clinicians everything they need to make informed decisions quickly. Furthermore, the cloud- hosted EMR service will enable IMC to achieve their clinical and financial goals without making major upfront capital expenditure. It will also free IMC staff members from the burden of recordkeeping, offering them the freedom to focus on what they do best – delivering quality patient care, while entrusting InterSystems with their EMR landscape.