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From left to right: Dr. Robert K. Crone, Dr. George
E. Thibault, His Excellency Mohammed Al Gergawi, and
Saeed Al Muntafiq at the May launch of the HMSDC.
Dubai
Healthcare City (DHCC) has taken a monumental step
towards becoming a regional center of excellence for
health care delivery, medical education, and research.
On May 31st, Dr. Robert K. Crone, president and CEO
of Harvard Medical International (HMI), and Dr. George
E. Thibault, Harvard Medical School professor of medicine,
joined His Excellency Mohammed Al Gergawi, chairman
of the board of the Dubai Development and Investment
Authority, and Saeed Al Muntafiq, chairman of the board
of DHCC, to break ground on the Harvard Medical School
Dubai Center (HMSDC). Scheduled for completion in 2005,
the Center will house the Institute for Postgraduate
Education and Research. The Center will be managed by
HMI, which has a strategic relationship with DHCC to
develop the quality management infrastructure and education
programs for the entire site.
“As a locus of
political and economic stability and innovation, Dubai
is in a position to serve the region’s needs for
high-quality health care, and to be a model for institution-building
in the region,” said Crone. “The leadership
of DHCC is committed to the principle of accessibility
for all, to professional and academic development, and
to international recognition for quality of care as
well as patient privacy, rights, and satisfaction.”
Al Muntafiq believes
that the HMSDC is a key element of DHCC’s efforts
to make Dubai a regional leader in medical education.
“The physicians and researchers who train in this
program will form the core faculty who will lead health
care and research initiatives in the Gulf Region,”
he said. “The main focus of DHCC’s support
is to provide leadership that will complement and strengthen
clinical services at DHCC and, ultimately, benefit patients.”
A mission with
meaning
The design and mission of the HMSDC is closely tied
to the core objectives of Dubai Healthcare City. In
addition to enriching the medical services provided
within DHCC and providing an infrastructure to support
lifelong learning, the leadership of DHCC also see the
HMSDC as a vessel through which the Middle East can
begin to reclaim its status as a center of scientific
discovery—recognized not just regionally, but
globally as well. “It is hoped that research funded
though the HMSDC will help to drive a resurgence in
scientific and medical excellence in the Arab world—a
centuries old tradition that has faded in recent years,”
said Crone.
Dr. Joseph B. Martin,
dean of Harvard Medical School, certainly can attest
to the critical relationship between research programs
and clinical services—the success of one influences
and supports the other. “The leadership at DHCC
recognize that creating a robust research environment
will be critical to attracting the best minds in the
region to Dubai, and thereby continually enriching the
services offered at DHCC for the well-being of families.”
The HMSDC is only one
of three bold initiatives introduced at DHCC in May.
The partners have also launched the Harvard Medical
School Foundation for Dubai. The Foundation has been
established to support the training and research programs
of the HMSDC, as well as collaborative research programs
around the world. Managed by the Harvard Management
Company, the Foundation will be the mechanism through
which HMI and DHCC attract philanthropy as well as private
and governmental funding for DHCC’s development.
The third major entity
announced is a strategic collaboration known as the
Center for Healthcare Planning and Quality (CPQ), which
will oversee health care quality management, medical
education, training, and credentialing within DHCC,
with the underlying goal of continuous improvement across
every aspect of the medical complex. Moving forward,
the CPQ will also offer its services in health systems
development, medical education, and professional development
to organizations throughout the Gulf Region. “At
the core of the HMI-DHCC collaboration is a commitment
to quality,” said Crone. “To that end, we
have made instituting global best practices the major
objective of the CPQ, which in turn will enable the
health care providers who are part of DHCC to attract
patients to their services, as well as top health care
professionals to their ranks.”
Education as
the root of continued progress
HMI and DHCC have already established a postgraduate
training program to foster the development of a cadre
of physician-specialists who will contribute to the
advancement of medicine and health in Dubai, the United
Arab Emirates, and the broader Gulf Region. The first
clinical fellowships will begin in July, 2004 in Harvard-affiliated
teaching hospitals in the Boston area. Ultimately, when
the appropriate infrastructure is established and clinical
and academic expertise is in place, the program will
be based in DHCC at the Harvard Medical School Dubai
Center.
Thibault, who serves
on the HMI Board of Directors and directs the Academy
at Harvard Medical School, explained that educational
innovations will be built into the HMSDC programs. “An
interesting element of this endeavor is the participation
of leading educators from Europe, Asia, and the U.S.,
who are excited about the opportunity to use their experiences
to help create a wholly new infrastructure that benefits
from the lessons of past initiatives and reform efforts,”
he said. “This leadership group makes up the Education
Committee and is working to shape the programs so that
they accommodate current trends in medicine while also
meeting the highest international standards of education
excellence.”
Continuing medical education
and postgraduate medical education courses will be a
regular component of DHCC and HMI’s activities,
helping to bring a constant supply of updated knowledge
and practices to the entire region. These programs will
build upon the success of the first Practi-Med Dubai,
which in December 2003 attracted more than 1,200 health
care professionals to hear about advances in clinical
practice from a faculty drawn in large part from Harvard
Medical School.
A growing community
moves forward
DHCC has invited leading academic medical institutions
and preeminent health care organizations to participate
in Dubai Healthcare City, including Harvard Medical
School and the Mayo Clinic, among many others. “We
have communicated with many health care organizations
that share our values and believe that DHCC represents
an enormous mutual opportunity,” said Al Muntafiq.
“We are eager to welcome partners who are committed
to creating patient-centered care, making this care
accessible to all, without compromise, and creating
and nurturing a community of professionals”
This commitment on the part of the DHCC leadership is
what excites Martin the most about the project. “Dubai
Healthcare City has generated interest among health
care professionals both within and outside of the Gulf
Region, simply by building their mission around the
real needs of the people in the region,” he said.
One of the challenges
facing DHCC and HMI is developing a strong health care
infrastructure that not only serves its purpose in the
near term, but that is agile enough to meet health care
needs as they evolve over time. “Dubai Healthcare
City represents an opportunity to leverage Dubai’s
successful growth and development along with the region’s
professional capital,” said Dr. Mehul Mehta, HMI
vice president of business development. “It is
a unique opportunity to create, from the ground up,
a lasting health care infrastructure that is enriched
by the experiences of international health care providers,
yet unhindered by legacy systems and practices.”
The total site comprises
435 acres, including disease prevention and wellness
facilities. DHCC’s services and facilities will
be available to the UAE, the whole of the Middle East,
and surrounding regions. Health care providers that
become DHCC tenants will be required to meet international
building and quality standards, including accreditation
within 36 months of start-up. The licensing and quality
management processes and decision-making have been delegated
by DHCC to autonomous boards with international representation.
“From the beginning,
our focus has been on ensuring that quality is one of
the pillars of DHCC,” said Mehta. “What
this quality infrastructure provides is not only a way
to measure progress, but also a mechanism to guide continuous
improvement and chart a course to providing care of
the highest quality.”
(Originally published
in HMI World: (www.hmiworld.org)
July/August 2004)
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