From left: Professor Edward Hillhouse, Chief of Scientific, Faculty and Academic Affairs, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC); Dr Steven Wartman, President and CEO, Association of Academic Healthcare Centres; and Dr Abdullatif Al Khal, Director, Dputy Chief of Medical Staff at Academic Affairs, HMC, at a press briefing at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel yesterday. (Salim Matramkot)
DOHA: Researchers focusing on common diseases in Qatar, such as diabetes, are getting a boost under Academic Health Systems (AHS), a new partnership between healthcare providers and education and research institutes in the country.
Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) together with six partner organisations is working on a five-year project to develop a nationwide academic health system in Qatar, a first in the Mena region.
AHS has adopted the “bench to bedside” approach for the translation of research into practical clinical benefits for patients.
“We have worked hard with our partners in the creation of AHS to lay the solid foundations of our future success,” said Professor Edward Hillhouse, HMC’s Chief of Scientific, Faculty and Academic Affairs. “Our primary goal is to ensure our patients receive the best care possible, informed by the latest research developments and using the latest treatments, tools and diagnostics.”
Qatar’s AHS is a partnership between Hamad Medical Corporation, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Qatar University, the University of Calgary–Qatar, College of the North Atlantic–Qatar, Sidra Medical and Research Centre and Primary Health Care Corporation. The partnership is already seeing real advances in the establishment of “virtual” healthcare institutes for cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and neuroscience, bringing clinical services and research together to streamline patient pathways and deliver comprehensive care for specific conditions.
“These specialised virtual institutes will serve as hubs of clinical, education and research activity which are all designed to deliver a seamless package of care for our patients,” said Professor Hillhouse.
“This involves clinical and translational (bench to bedside) research which will make real impacts on the delivery of healthcare to our patients. The institutes will also look at innovative solutions for the healthcare challenges facing Qatar.”
The institutes, developed in tandem with the National Health Strategy, will underpin the state-of-the-art Translational Research Institute, which will open in 2015.
This research emphasis has also involved reaching out to world-class international partners focusing on areas including personalised medicine, women’s health, obesity and diabetes.
AHS also aims at the creation of a highly skilled and flexible healthcare workforce in Qatar. “We are creating a world-class healthcare workforce and our educational achievement has already been recognised by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education International, with Qatar being only the second country outside the US, after Singapore, to achieve this,” said Dr Abdullatif Al Khal, Deputy Chief of Medical Staff for Academic Affairs and Director of Medical Education at HMC.
“Further, HMC is collaborating with Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar and other renowned international partners to transform graduate medical education in Qatar.”
Dr Steven A Wartman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Academic Healthcare Centres, said the partnership being created in Qatar was truly unique.
“Together, Qatar’s AHS partners have established a clear vision and strategy for success, drawing upon the partnership’s synergies as well as additional local and international expertise. Patients, and the delivery of excellent patient care, are at the forefront of the partnership’s ambitious vision,” he said.
The Peninsula
