Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) have announced the joint hosting of the 6th Middle East Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare. The annual three-day conference, one of the leading health professional education events in Qatar and the region, will be held on 23 to 25 March, 2018 at the Qatar National Convention Centre in Doha.
Dr. Ron Wyatt, Chief Quality Officer of HMC and Middle East Forum Chair, expressed his delight that the annual conference is continuing to gain momentum in the region: “Year on year, we see rising interest from frontline staff and senior healthcare leaders committed to learning valuable lessons about how to improve the care delivered by their healthcare system. We expect close to 3,000 attendees to participate in this year’s conference and each and every one of them has something valuable to contribute.
“This forum is now a platform in Qatar and the region for knowledge exchange on a wide variety of topics for all healthcare professionals. From the science of improvement topics for those with advanced quality improvement knowledge to introductory sessions for individuals who are starting on their improvement journey, we have something for anyone interested in making a real difference to patient care,” added Dr. Wyatt.
Over the three days, delegates are able to exchange real-world learnings, highlight successes and challenge themselves to learn about important topics designed to provide practical and evidence-based learning that will help develop their healthcare knowledge as well as patient care.
Dr. Abdullatif Al Khal, Deputy Chief Medical Officer at HMC and Middle East Forum Co-Chair highlighted the importance of having a platform for professional learning in quality improvement: “It is an amazing opportunity for such a large group of healthcare professionals to convene over three days, share knowledge and then take back to their organizations evidence-based solutions that can help tackle some of the biggest challenges facing healthcare systems today.”
This year’s conference theme is “Building a Culture of Safety” and centers on facilitating a multi-disciplinary approach to delivering and improving healthcare. The 2018 program will see the alignment of sessions according to key topics:
- Patient experience (patient-centered care)
Putting people, patients, and care partners at the heart of every decision and empowering them to be genuine partners in the care provided.
- Joy at work
Providing proven methods and resources to enable the workforce to succeed and flourish.
- Improvement science
Promoting the use of improvement science to drive meaningful and far-reaching changes that will improve health and healthcare, with a special focus on patient flow.
- Patient safety
Establishing an environment designed to help reduce harm and preventable mortality and thereby making the healthcare continuum safer.
- Leadership
Engaging leaders at all levels in driving results within health and healthcare.
“While our long and fruitful collaboration with Qatar and HMC go back many years, we are particularly excited about the next Middle East Forum which will see additional expertise and support from the National Patient Safety Foundation team, who merged with IHI in May this year,” said Derek Feeley, CEO and President of IHI. “Dr. Tejal Gandhi, IHI’s Chief Clinical and Safety Officer, will bring her wealth of experience, expertise, and enthusiasm to what is already the premier healthcare improvement event in the region.”
The world-class program will feature leading international healthcare experts with a proven track record in quality improvement. Additional guest speakers, interactive workshops, lectures, and plenary sessions will enhance the activities designed to promote professional networking and knowledge sharing.
The conference reinforces the partnership between HMC and IHI, a not-for-profit organization that is a leading innovator in health and healthcare improvement worldwide.
