Academic Health System to become nationwide initiative

By Noimot Olayiwola/Staff Reporter Over the next five years, the Hamad Medical Corporation and its six partner organisations will develop a nationwide Academic Health System (AHS) , which will be the first of its kind centre in the Middle East and North Africa region, senior HMC officials yesterday observed. The AHS is also expected to improve standards of patient care, help train the next generation of clinical and scientific leaders in Qatar and support world-class research. The AHS partnership, launched in August 2011, which focuses on using education and research to improve healthcare, is already seeing scientists and clinicians working on targeted research projects relating to the challenges facing Qatar’s growing population. An AHS, often referred to as having a ‘tripartite or triple mission’ due to its three pillars comprising clinical care, research and education, is a partnership between leading education, research institutions and healthcare providers. The AHS partners are HMC, 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 seeing progress on research programmes focusing on specific conditions that affect the population, including diabetes. It has adopted the “bench to bedside” approach for the translation of research to practical clinical benefits for patients. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, the HMC’s Faculty and Academic Affairs Chief of Scientific professor Edward Hillhouse explained that the AHS is an innovative partnership working towards transforming healthcare in Qatar. “We have worked hard with our partners in the creation of this AHS to lay the solid foundations of our future success,” he said adding: “Our primary goal is to ensure our patients receive the best care possible, informed by the latest research development and using the latest treatments, tools and diagnostics.” He maintained that the partnership is already seeing real advances in the establishment of “virtual” healthcare institutes – for cancer, cardiovascular disease,metabolic and neuroscience – bringing clinical services and research together to streamline patient pathways and deliver comprehensive care for specific conditions. Another key component to the success of the partnership is the creation of a highly skilled and flexible healthcare workforce in Qatar, he said. Medical Staff for Academic Affairs deputy chief, who is also the  Medical Education department director Dr  Abdullatif al-Khal explained the significance of the AHS on the graduate medical education saying: “Medical education is more advanced with physicians at the Corp, so we need to do more with nursing and pharmacists’ education because I  believe there is more we can learn to improve the graduate medical education as well as the residency programmes, in order to have specialists that have elaborate knowledge that will translate to improved patient care.” “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 (AGCME-I), with Qatar being only the second country outside of the US, after Singapore, to achieve this,” he said. The official mentioned further that HMC is collaborating with Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar and other renowned international partners to transform graduate medical education in the country. Also speaking about the Qatar’s planned AHS, Association of Academic Healthcare Centers president and chief executive officer Dr Steven A Wartman 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. He mentioned that because more countries are beginning to realise the value of AHS nowadays, there are presently around 100 AHS at various stages of development across the world.