Aster DM Healthcare, one of the largest private, integrated healthcare service providers across the GCC and Asia, successfully completed its 18 years of dedicated service in Qatar recently. Launched in 2003 as Al Rafa Polyclinic in Musherib, the clinic had quickly established among both local and expat communities through its quality service. Currently, in addition to the branch in C Ring Road, Aster Medical Centre runs in Al Hilal, Industrial Area, Al Rayyan and Al Khor and also operates a state of art 50-bed multispeciality hospital with 3 operation theatres and ICU facilities at Old Airport adjacent to D Ring Road.
Kapil Chib, Chief Operating Officer ar Aster DMH Qatar, speaks about the firm’s successful journey, the challenges and opportunities it has brought, and what the future has in store ftr the healthcare sector in the country.
Aster recently completed its 18 years of dedicated service in Qatar. Can you shed some light on the history of how it started and what were the challenges along the way?
Dr Azad Moopen, the visionary founder, chairman and managing director of Aster DM Healthcare, started a single doctor clinic in 1987. Over the years, Aster DM Healthcare has grown into a global healthcare conglomerate with hundreds of facilities spread across several countries, including GCC, Asia Pacific and South Asia. The journey has been phenomenal, and that's where we are, and that's where our history stands.
In terms of challenges, like any other organisation, we also had the common challenges when we started. However, due to the right strategies and the overwhelming support from all around, the single medical centre has evolved into an integrated healthcare provider that offers the complete range of healthcare to people through its excellent network of hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies, offering primary to tertiary care to people from all parts of the community.
What do you think is driving the healthcare industry forward in Qatar?
The meticulous strategy and continuous investment in healthcare infrastructure contribute largely to the growth of healthcare industry in this country. Consequently, it has helped Qatar to become one of the best healthcare delivery systems in the world.
Qatar was ranked among the top 20 countries in Numbeo's Health Care Index last year. Qatar is rapidly becoming a medical hub in the region and there is tremendous potential to serve international patients in the country.
What is on your agenda for the next five years and what are your ultimate goals for your organisation?
We are much more than mere hospitals, medical centres and pharmacies. We are a multifaceted organisation working to contribute in a holistic manner to the society.
In the coming years, we strive to be a preferred healthcare provider, a preferred employer and a responsible organisation duly contributing to the society. We want to touch the lives of people. In fact, we have a mission to serve 75 million patients globally through our hospital, medical centres, pharmacies and CSR initiatives.
We currently have 1 hospital and 5 medical centres in Qatar. We have already started working on hospital expansion and super specialty services. Additionally, we are looking to add many niche specialties and sub specialties.
Is there a particular specialty you are seeking to add in the existing clinics and hospital?
At the Aster Hospital, we recently launched gastroenterology and currently working on enhancing cardiology department. We will also be introducing neurosurgery in the hospital. In the medical centres, we will be introducing endocrinology, rheumatology along with providing major emphasis on lifestyle counseling, preventive healthcare measures, and clinical psychology. Basically, we will be focusing both on clinical interventions and preventive measures in the community.
What sets Aster apart from other healthcare providers in Qatar?
We, at Aster DM Healthcare, foster AsterCares culture that guides our organisational behaviour and decision making, and that creates the unique ethos that is imbibed in every Asterian. Also, we live by this promise "We’ll Treat you Well" that sums up what we do and why we exist. This is our guiding philosophy in our interactions with patients, doctors, employees, vendors, and society at large.
How often do you conduct community outreach programmes in Qatar?
Our CSR initiative ‘Aster Volunteers’ aims to reduce the gap between people who want to help and people who need help. It was started with a singular vision, to unite people from all walks of life in helping make the world a little better. We have a large number of dedicated volunteers globally and Aster Volunteers’ work based on six pillars, including BLS training, mobile medical services, differently-abled recruitments and support, free investigations, procedures and surgeries, medical camps and child health initiatives. We do it regularly and on an ongoing basis.
Aster DM Healthcare's Green Choices campaign is another key CSR initiative with an aim to 'Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle' as much as possible to promote sustainability and contribute to a cleaner, greener future. We aim to achieve this goal through a variety of drives, awareness campaigns, and activities each month.
Furthermore, we organise medical camps for workers across Qatar, as well as engaging in campaigns to promote road safety and so on.
What will be the leading trends in healthcare in the coming years and how will patients and providers need to adapt?
Covid-19 has transformed the world very abruptly. We have seen very rapid adoption of digital tools in all walks of life in the last two years, whether it is personal or professional. Teleconferences have replaced physical meetings to a great extent.
We will continue to see the emergence of virtual care solutions across healthcare from telehealth visits to virtual hospital care and home-based care. Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are taking over the healthcare industry at an accelerated pace, just as they have in other fields.
At Aster, we have undertaken many initiatives to leverage advancements in digital technology for the benefit of patients. We have adopted many applications on digital front ranging from teleconsultations to teleradiology. We are working at global level to explore, adapt and implement tele-healthcare systems.
