What have been Sidra Medicine’s latest achievements in research and technology?

ZIYAD M. HIJAZI Sidra Medicine as a facility fully opened in 2018, having first launched its outpatient clinics in 2016. We are primarily a women’s and children’s hospital, and our remit is built on our three pillars of education, research, and clinical care. For a hospital that opened only in 2018, we have made great strides in our approach to providing innovative and groundbreaking care for women and children in Qatar. Needless to say, our hospital boasts cutting-edge equipment from X-ray machines, CT scans, and MRIs to laser technology and even robotics. Sidra is a digital institution, with paperless medical records, and is connected to Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC).

What sets Al Ahli Hospital apart from other medical institutions?

KHALID AL-EMADI The basis of institutional success is teamwork, continued perseverance, and excellent strategic planning. The management team of Al-Ahli hospital has always worked with these principles in mind and have continued to invest in the team and infrastructure to place the hospital and the service we provide at the forefront of medical care in the private health sector. It has not been easy as we faced many challenge in terms of logistics human resources and capabilities but with good strategic planning have prevailed.

What role do you play in terms of medical tourism in Qatar?

ZMH We are well positioned to support medical tourism, and it is something that I helped establish at Sidra Medicine. When I was in the US, I had many patients from all over the world come to Chicago for treatment. When I relocated to Qatar, my goal was for people get access to my specialist skills as an interventionalist, wherever I was based. Therefore, we opened an international office and began promoting our specialist services to neighboring countries. Each year, our International Patients Services team works with families who travel outside of their home country to receive specialized care at our hospital. In line with our multidisciplinary approach to care, we apply the latest techniques and work in collaboration with other specialties and experts to offer hybrid procedures. We are also pleased that Qatar Tourism Authority have featured our hospital in its medical services section to highlight the top-quality medical services that Qatar has established in the country.

Al Ahli Hospital has a significant number of international doctors and consultants. How does this facilitate the flow of skills and knowledge into the country?

KAE We as a hospital realized very early that skill mix of international and local doctors improves knowledge and thus services offered to our patients. Al-Ahli hospital has always strived to attract world-class doctors and consultants with excellent work etiquette. In doing so, we have also listened to international doctors and introduced technology to continue to improve our services in keeping with modern health trends. We developed and introduced an integrated electronic medical system for recording patients’ medical data, requesting investigations, and other services, and this has helped us be efficient and provide a seamless service.

How important are partnerships to the hospital?

ZMH Our major healthcare partner is HMC; before Sidra Medicine opened, all pediatric services were based at HMC, and after we opened, all the tertiary and specialist pediatric services were tramsferred to Sidra Medicine, except for secondary pediatrics, which is under HMC. We have formed a committee called the Joint Partnership Committee (JPC) consisting of leaders from Sidra Medicine and HMC who discuss all avenues of collaboration between the two institutions to help advance the healthcare network for patients and families in Qatar. We also welcome students and residents from Weill Cornell-Medicine in Qatar, Qatar University, and the University of Calgary.

What are the hospital’s main objectives looking ahead?

KAE The main objectives of Al-Ahli Hospital moving forward is to continue to provide the beast care for our patients in line with the national health strategy. As a hospital we have allocated a significant amount of our budget to improve and expand our premise and car parking facilities to provide for our patient and staff. We are also working toward increasing our staff to cater adequate the various discipline of medicine and surgery. Thus far we have to remain at the forefront of changing medical care.