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  |  Saudi Arabia: Climate For Change  This page was sponsored by: Dallah HospitalWhat the Doctor Ordered A Thirty-year Partnership Hospital extends Links with The U.S. Making Medical History What the Doctor OrderedThe growth of private specialist hospitals offering the latest treatments is helping to meet the health demands of a rapidly rising populationThe role of the private sector in the provision of health care services is increasing substantially in Saudi Arabia. This is exemplified by the Dallah Hospital in Riyadh, which is one of the largest private hospitals in the kingdom with the widest range of specializations. The hospital, which belongs to the Dallah Healthcare Company, is headed by Engr. Tarek Othman Al-Qassabi, who has been involved in healthcare activities for more than a decade. It is Dallah Healthcare's mission, says Engr. Al-Qassabi, to serve the healthcare needs of the community by providing a world-class quality of medical care and innovative measures, coupled with a responsible use of resources and respect for individuals. "All life is a gift of God and each person's life is of great value," he says. A multitude of successful cardiac catheter procedures and cardiac operations have been provided by the Dallah cardiac center, which was the first in the region to introduce intra-coronary ultrasound and long stents for coronary aneurism. It is still the only private hospital fully-equipped with an electro- physiology diagnostic and treatment center. The hospital's diabetic center was established in close cooperation with the Deaconess Hospital in Boston, which is affiliated to the Harvard Medical School, and its relationship with the Dallah Hospital is a testament to the top-quality standards the respective institutions share. Dallah IVF Center is the largest destination in the region for the treatment of in-vitro fertilization and is considered to be the most technologically sophisticated. It has 22 women doctors who provide outstanding treatment for infertility and assisted conception. Established in 1987, the hospital has 220 beds and an out-patient department that is now visited by more than a thousand patients a day. Professor Mohammad R. Al-Fagih, the medical superintendent of Dallah Healthcare Co. says the burgeoning role of the private sector in healthcare in the kingdom has resulted from the government's inability to meet fully the needs of a rapidly growing population that is very demanding in its health needs. "Over the past 20 years we've seen many new hospitals and health centers built, as well as the introduction of much new technology, by both the government and the private sector. "In Riyadh there are several government hospitals with more than 500 beds and some with more than a thousand, and I think, if you take a close look, you would see that they are as advanced as their Western counterparts." What sets the private sector apart, he points out, is the fact that it has to generate its own budgets and work within its means. "Fifteen years ago at Dallah we only worked in general specialities. Now we have many sub-specialities, like neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, the best infertility treatment in the country and nearly all the diagnostic facilities that you can think of." The hospital has more than 150 physicians, some of whom began their careers at Dallah before gaining specialist qualifications either in the kingdom or abroad. Professor Al-Fagih's association with the Harvard Medical School began in 1995, when he was invited to be a visiting professor of cardiac surgery at Harvard's Deaconess Medical Center. "I used my relationship with Harvard to establish ties between Harvard and Dallah Hospital in initiating the management of diabetes" he says. This connection was useful because diabetes is an extremely common disorder in the kingdom. Nearly one in five Saudis beyond the age of 30 suffer from diabetes mellitus. Research suggests this is because the Saudi diet includes a high intake of carbohydrates, and climatic conditions and life patterns limit the amount of exercise undertaken by older people. Professor Al-Fagih believes there is great potential for growth in private sector hospitals across the region but warns that investors must be careful and research the market well before investing, because pricing structures used in the U.S. do not function well in the Gulf region. "Hospitals have very complex management structures," he adds. "That said, there is still great room for foreign investment in the sector that, if conducted correctly, could prove very profitable. We welcome foreign entrants and are excited about the future of the Dallah Hospital." A Thirty-year Partnership Loma Linda University physicians (left to right): Dr. Roy Jutzy, Dr. C. Joan Coggin, Dr. Mohammed Al Fagih and Dr. Ellsworth Wareham This year marks the 30th anniversary of a global outreach project that links the Loma Linda University (LLU) of Southern California with Saudi Arabia. The LLU was the first American university to operate an academically and professionally accredited allied health degree program in the Middle East and today runs the only American university clinical campus in Saudi Arabia. It was in January 1976 that a medical treatment team from LLU first visited the country at the invitation of the Saudi government and performed the kingdom's first open-heart operation. The team of fully equipped physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and support staff, led by Dr Ellsworth Wareham and Dr Joan Coggin of the LLU, were joined by a young Saudi surgeon, Dr Mohammad Al-Fagih who, a decade later, was instrumental in the establishment of the Dallah Hospital. Recalling that first operation, Professor Al-Fagih today notes with appreciation that the LLU team allowed him and other young Saudi surgeons to perform the most complicated surgeries, while the LLU professors assisted as mentors. Three years later, the LLU heart team participation was transferred to the new Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital, where Dr Al-Fagih led the cardiac department. What followed was a success rate of open-heart surgery, particularly for children, that ranks with the success rates of the best heart centers of the world. The philosophy of the LLU team from the beginning was to provide training at all levels. One of the heart team, Dr Richard Nelson, proposed and worked to replace on-the-job training with fully accredited university programs. He became the co-founder with Professor Al-Fagih of the Loma Linda University Satellite Campus in Riyadh. In 1986, the first accredited respiratory care practitioner program to be offered outside the U.S. was opened at the cardiac center in Riyadh. Today, the graduates of this program are leaders in their field at major Saudi hospitals. Last year, the LLU satellite campus - the National Institute for Specialized Health Training - was established as an independent, purpose-built, non-profit institution, funded by the Dallah Healthcare Company. During its centennial celebrations, which also fall this year, the LLU president, Dr Lyn Behrens, presented Professor Al-Fagih with its Centennial Global Service Award for his outstanding cardiovascular service to the people of Saudi Arabia, and an award to the nation of Saudi Arabia for its role in LLU's history. The purpose of the cooperation is multifaceted, according to Dr Nelson. "We seek to provide service," he says. "U.S. accredited education is still needed as allied health board certification is still developing in Saudi Arabia. "Our graduates can sit for U.S. boards, enabling them to be recognized to better support high standards for their profession. "Our Saudi alumni have demonstrated excellent success on the U.S. national boards, occasionally exceeding our Californian alumni board result averages," he adds.  Artist's rendering of expansion project Hospital extends Links with The U.S.Saudi medical students studying the Loma Linda University program will now be able to practice in America when they graduateAs a result of the success of the Dallah Hospital, its proprietor, the Dallah Healthcare Company, is expanding its infrastructure and building an 80-bed extension. "We are also constructing Dallah Tower, which will be a seven-floor facility for outpatients," says Professor Al-Fagih. "And, in addition to that, we are extending our training programs for medical personnel." The expanded facility will be known as the Dallah Hospital Medical City. Asked whether it would include a college, Professor Al-Fagih said he hoped that it would. "We have established a non-profit organization called Allied Medical Specialities to give diplomas and, soon, bachelor degrees in medical specialities. Unfortunately, however, government bureaucracy is delaying the licensing of such projects." Professor Al-Fagih says the curriculum for the proposed college was the same as that of the Loma Linda University (LLU) curriculum, which, he says, is much more advanced than that of any other educational institution in Saudi Arabia. "But the government told us that it was too sophisticated and that we had to simplify it. It then took us another year to hire someone from the King Saud University, at considerable expense, to make our curriculum simpler in order to get certification, and that has delayed the project." The professor emphasizes that Dallah was not prepared to compromise the standards of its training. "So what we've done is to make our university an extension of the campus of Loma Linda University so that our students, when they graduate from here, can go right to the U.S. and practice there like any American graduate," he says. Is this a first in Saudia Arabia? "Absolutely," says Professor Al-Fagih. "Such a relationship does not exist anywhere else. I myself have been joint professor of cardio-pulmonary sciences at Loma Linda University." The high standards demanded by Dallah have ensured that many of its departments are recognized in the U.S. and in the United Kingdom, as well as by the Saudi Council for Health Specialities. "It has taken us a long time to get where we are," says Professor Al-Fagih, "and we are very proud of the partnership with LLU." Making Medical HistoryHospital ventures lead to breakthrough in life-saving machineryDallah Healthcare Company's venture-capital arm, Afx Inc., which is based in Silicon Valley, invested about $30 million in developing a machine that could read cardiac arrhythmia - the abnormal beating of the heart - and then sold it for more than $120 million to Guidant. Use of the machine was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and it is now being sold worldwide. "In these sorts of ventures we are obviously forced to look outside of Saudi Arabia because understanding of venture capital is minimal in the kingdom," says Professor Al-Fagih. "There is a lack of supporting sectors here, which is why most medical equipment companies operate in places like Silicon Valley. But that does not mean that we cannot provide the creative initiative and capital for such projects. "We are prepared to take risks and are always looking for new opportunities," he adds. The result is a new project called truCCOMS established by Omega Critical Care Ltd., a medical devices manufacturer based in Scotland and owned by Dallah. The TruCCOMS cardiac output monitoring system is the only one providing real-time, continuous, accurate information. It provides long-awaited benefits, especially in live-heart surgery and for critically ill patients with haemodynamic instabilities. Clearance has been obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the device is now on sale worldwide. "Other machines take from six to eight minutes, but ours gives an instant reading," says Professor Al-Fagih. "We still haven't made a profit or even broken even yet, but I don't think this is too far off. Once we break even, we will sell, or join a larger company with a greater distribution network or we will make our own, and this is where we make our profit." In the meantime, Dallah is continuing its efforts to promote invention in healthcare technology. |
 
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