The Human resources Department of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) concluded a four-day training course, held at HMC Staff Club at Medical City, targeting the first level of administrative supervisors across the organization.

“Key Managerial and Behavioral Skills for Supervisors” was attended by 23 male and female staff from Wakra Hospital (WH), Women’s Hospital (WH), Materials Management Department and the Hospitality Department.

Ms. Hessa Al-Manai, Assistant Executive Director for Training and Development Affairs at the Human Resources Department explained that this course is the first of its kind to be specially designed and designated for the first level of the administrative supervisors with the aim of providing them with the key managerial and behavioral skills to enable them to perform their professional roles in a proficient manner.

Ms. Einas Mustafa Malkawi, the Training Director at the Human Resources Department and lecturer at the course underlined that the managerial issues tackled by the course included control and organization principles, leadership and staff performance appraisal and the distribution of tasks that ensure patients and visitor’s satisfaction.

Instructor Rasha Tamer of the Training Department who also participated in the event said: “The course witnessed a variety of practical activities such as: the study of typical cases, collective discussions and educational videos,” she said.

Participants were awarded attendance certificates at the end of the course.

Source: Marketing and Public Relations Department

Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) dedication to excellence has been recognized with an outstanding win among five nominations in at last night’s Arab Health Awards in Dubai.

The Trauma and Critical Care Fellowship Program in the Trauma Surgery Section at Hamad General Hospital was awarded the Excellence in Surgery Services Award at the gala dinner on 24 January.

HMC Managing Director Hanan Al Kuwari PhD congratulated the winners and finalists and said the awards success was recognition of the organization’s commitment to delivering life changing patient care and ensuring excellence in everything we do.

“It is great to see the work of Hamad Medical Corporation making it to the final shortlist in five categories at this prestigious and competitive regional awards event. Each and every one of our team is a winner,” Dr Hanan said.

“Special congratulations must go to the entire Trauma Team at Hamad General Hospital for their excellent efforts under the leadership of Dr. Hassan Al Thani.”
 
Trauma is one of the leading causes of death in the young adult population within the Gulf region, which includes the State of Qatar.  A significant number of trauma and injured patients will require advanced critical care and surgical services.

The Trauma and Critical Care Fellowship Program in the Trauma Surgery Section, with a strong focus to improve patient outcomes through cutting edge training and education of the next generation of trauma and critical care specialty physicians, exemplifies excellence in surgery services.  

A priority of the Trauma and Critical Care Fellowship Program at Hamad General Hospital is to educate and train physicians to enhance the delivery of critical care for patients throughout the hospital, from admission through discharge.  The advanced medical education serves as the foundation for the advancement of the surgical sciences and patient care.

The efforts of the leadership and staff of the Fellowship Program and the Trauma Surgery Section have lead to improvements in access, delivery and quality of emergency, trauma and critical care services for the entire population in the State of Qatar. 

This win recognizes the tireless and innovative work by the staff of the Trauma Surgery Section and The Trauma and Critical Fellowship Program at Hamad General Hospital and the achievement of the highest quality of surgical care and patient safety.

For more information about the Arab Health Awards go to http://www.arabhealthonline.com/Awards/

Source: Marketing and Public Relations Department

The Department of Pharmacy at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Al Wakra Hospital (AWH), a member of HMC, are hosting the second Qatar International Pharmaceutical Conference on 26-28 January. The conference is organized under the theme “Achieving excellence in pharmaceutical care, education and research”.

Organized under the umbrella of Qatar Health Activity 2012, the two-day event targets a wide spectrum of pharmacists, clinicians and pharmacy-related professionals with the aim of upgrading their knowledge and skills through the exchange of ideas and experiences. The conference will comprise a number of lectures and workshops.

Source: Marketing and Public Relations Department

Hamad Medical Corporation’s Psychiatry Department invites clinical and healthcare professionals, educators and members of the general public to an Open Day lecture on Schizophrenia on Wednesday, 25 January. Open Days are conducted by the department as part of efforts to raise awareness and give basic advice to those dealing with the condition.

The presentation will be conducted in Arabic and English by Dr Hind Rifai, Consultant Psychiatrist at HMC’s Psychiatry Department, and Ms Wamda Eldrdiry, a Charge Nurse at Rumailah Hospital Nursing/Psychiatry. The speakers will discuss the causes, symptoms and treatment options available for schizophrenia. The open discussion will take place from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at the Psychiatry Department which is located next to The Center and Mega Mart, and the Kahramaa office on Ibn Sina Street.

Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that affects a large cross-section of any population. The prevalence of schizophrenia is thought to be about one percent of the population around the world and is more common than diabetes. The disorder is considered to be one of the top ten causes of long-term disability worldwide.

Active symptoms can include delusions, hallucinations, trouble with thinking and concentration, and lack of motivation. Although there is no cure for the condition, proper treatment of the symptoms can help many of those diagnosed to greatly improve over time.

Although exact causes are not fully known, researchers believe that a number of biological and environmental factors play a role in the disease’s onset and course. There are numerous misconceptions about the disease, and many with less severe symptoms can live with their families or in group homes, or even on their own. This lecture will help to shed more light on the condition.

The Psychiatry Department holds Open Days once a month throughout the year (except for the summer break from July to September). The Open Days aim to provide education on various aspects of mental illness and mental health, as well as services offered by the department.

Source: Marketing and Public Relations Department

The life changing work and achievements of biomedical researchers at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) have been showcased at the Corporation’s Annual Research Day.

This is an important step as HMC continues towards its goal of creating an internationally competitive Academic Health System (AHS), which will pioneer the best healthcare and research to benefit all in Qatar.
 
The achievements of HMC researchers were recognized by their colleagues at an event at HMC’s Clubhouse with seven oral presentations about recent work as well as poster presentations about their findings.

Hanan Al Kuwari PhD, Managing Director of HMC, congratulated the Corporation’s researchers who have gained recognition with 12 successful proposals winning nearly QR40 million in grants from the Qatar National Research Fund in the fourth cycle of funding. This is a funding of increase of 64 percent on the third cycle of QNRF funding in 2011. Additionally, in HMC’s internal Grants Scheme, 11 projects were awarded QR3.24 million in funding.

Dr. Al Kuwari said that this award winning research represented strong foundations for the pursuit of medical and academic excellence through the AHS initiative. The AHS will aim to address Qatar’s complex healthcare challenges through collaborative research, education, community engagement and the pursuit of innovative solutions.
 
“The Medical Research Center at HMC is developing and maintaining a vibrant research culture in line with our National Vision for a knowledge based economy. Researchers and other healthcare professionals in HMC, working in collaboration with our partner institutions, are growing our intellectual capital for the benefit of all,” Dr. Al Kuwari said.

“Qatar’s focus on translational research means that HMC is at the forefront of pioneering new research and discoveries, and bringing them directly to the wards and bedsides to treat patients as soon as they have been safely tested.”

HMC is currently working on establishing a Translational Research Institute which will provide state of the art research facilities in translational and clinical research. The facility will consolidate all research groups across HMC and encourage collaboration and innovation in areas such as bioinformatics, biostatistics, ethics, molecular imaging, genomics and proteomics and clinical trials.

In recent months HMC’s leading researchers have been recognized within Qatar and internationally for their work on health issues facing our community.

A team of researchers including Dr. Hanadi Elayoubi was awarded Best Biomedical Research Program at the recent Qatar Foundation Annual Research Forum; the second year in a row that it was won by HMC.

Meanwhile a team of HMC researchers, led by Dr. Jassim Al Suwaidi and Dr Waleed M. Ali, also received international recognition after their findings that khat increases risk of death and stroke in patients with heart disease was published in the prestigious Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Dr. Abdulbanari Bener also won plaudits for his recently published work on gestational diabetes in Qatar and the impact on infant health – Prevalence of gestational diabetes and associated maternal and neonatal complications in a fast-developing community: global comparisons.

Dr. Abdulla Al Ansari achieved recognition for his clinical trial findings on the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia when he was published in the Journal of European Urology.
 
Dr. Fahmi Yousef Khan was published in the Journal of Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease for his successful study based on Hamad General Hospital about the epidemiology of bacteraemia.

Source: Marketing and Public Relations Department

Hamad Medical Corporation is pleased to announce the arrival of Patient Pathway Coordinators (PPC), who will be joining the team of health professionals working in cancer care. The PPCs will play a crucial role in coordinating a cancer patient’s care. They will work with the cancer patient on every step of their journey, right from the point of diagnosis, with the goal of ensuring a seamless care pathway.

The introduction of these new roles are a direct outcome of Hamad Medical Corporation’s implementation of the National Cancer Strategy for Qatar, launched by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser in April 2011. Since the launch of the Strategy, HMC has been working to recruit and train PPCs to start their work in providing additional support for cancer patients in Qatar.

Jennifer Jones, Project Manager for HMC’s Transforming Cancer Services team said, ‘HMC is very proud of the introduction of Patient Pathway Coordinators. The importance of the role of the PPC was described in the National Cancer Strategy and it is very exciting to see the idea come to life. The Strategy talked about having more health care professionals interacting with patients at the right time and it recommended this new role as crucial in the delivery of excellent and personalized cancer services.

It is crucial that cancer care is patient centered at all times and takes into consideration a patient’s psycho-social needs as well as their medical needs. The PPC role is seen as being at the heart of making this a reality.’

A total of 7 PPCs have been recruited and have graduated from their specialist internationally–led training course. They will be starting working with patients over the next few weeks, adding a valuable element of support to cancer patient’s journeys. A further cadre of recruitment for these unique roles shall begin in the New Year.

Source: Marketing and Public Relations Department

Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) have reached an agreement with Cerner Corporation to deliver a state-of-the-art Clinical Information System (CIS) which will consolidate patient records across the organizations.

When the new CIS is deployed and operational, it will support our clinical community in the delivery of high quality care for patients. The solution also includes data for management and clinical reporting, planning, audit and research as a foundation for our plans for an Academic Health Centre. Similarly, the new Enterprise system will pave the way for electronic services to patients as we build a “patient online portal” that facilitates engagement and participation of patients in care management.
 
Starting in April, HMC, PHCC and Cerner Corporation will work side by side during the next five years to implement the systems and ensure a seamless transition.
 
Staff training will commence before “go live” dates for both Hamad General Hospital and the Heart Hospital as the first sites to have the CIS system deployed in September 2013. Primary Health Care Centers will start with a select group of centers planned to “go live” at the same time. The roll out of the whole system is expected to be complete by 2015.
 
On the occasion of signing of the contract with Cerner, Hanan Al Kuwari PhD, Managing Director of HMC said this will directly contribute to the corporation’s goal of delivery quality patient-centered care:  “We are pleased to have reached this milestone in the project and is sure that HMC clinicians and staff will grab this opportunity firmly and make a success of this project. It is a very important investment for the future of healthcare in Qatar.”

Dr. Mariam Abdul Malik, Managing Director of PHCC said it was a big step for the organization and will provide for more streamlined services:  “We are looking forward to a successful collaboration between HMC and PHCC to deliver this  model of  unified integrated services with a wide coverage and continuity of services that are integrated with secondary care, as well as being able to support health promotion and prevention which is vital to the vision of PHCC and is one of the goals of the National Health Strategy”

Source: Marketing and Public Relations Department