As CEO of Anglo Arabian Healthcare, how did you deal with the sudden changes to medical and business practices brought about by Covid-19?
We have been tracking the outbreak in China from late January 2020 and following the reports released by the World Health Organisation at periodic intervals. We also kept a close watch on the infection trends and outcomes in other countries that were impacted after China, like Iran, Italy and South Korea. The Ministry of Health and Prevention has taken many initiatives and early steps to control the pandemic in the country. We were getting regular updates from the health authorities on protocols to be followed, actions to be taken and precautions to be put in place.
It is important for us as a private hospital to be part of the battle against this pandemic and support the community in these difficult times. The changes brought in by Covid-19 on the business and way of life is sudden and significant. However, we were able to rise up to the occasion to not only balance the business but also more importantly contribute to the community’s requirements.
Like many healthcare providers, Amina Hospital has enhanced its telemedicine and consultation services to address the safety and social distancing needs of staff and patients. What were some of the challenges of implementing the system, and do you expect it to remain popular once the threat of Covid-19 has passed?
Telemedicine as a concept was very much in existence for over 50 years since NASA started using this technology to monitor the physiological condition of the astronauts sent into space.
Telemedicine as a concept was very much in existence for over 50 years since NASA started using this technology to monitor the physiological condition of the astronauts sent into space.
Later this concept was used in the US for providing care at remote rural communities. The uptake for this concept increased multifold over the past few months since the guidelines of social distancing have come into place. We started providing telemedicine/teleconsultations as a service across our facilities in Ajman, Sharjah and Dubai to make sure that the patients don’t expose themselves unnecessarily to the risk of getting Covid-19 infection. The key challenges were to ensure that the Telemedicine portal is integrated with medical records and the hospital information system. As the use of the Telemedicine portal on laptops, tabs or mobiles is easy, the community embraced this technology with open arms. Telemedicine is here to stay and will be used extensively in specialties where the need for physical examination is minimal. This will also open up the window to seek a second opinion from experts anywhere in the world, which will be the next logical step.
Has Amina Hospital been running any CSR initiatives since the UAE’s Sterilisation Programme began? Please share some details.
As a part of the CSR activities from our group, we have been doing Covid-19 awareness sessions from February in various organisations providing them with information on the pandemic and the precautions to be taken to protect ourselves and the community from the spread of infections. To date we were able to reach out to about 20,000 employees working in various organisations.
What are some of the newest technologies being used at the Amina hospital, whether for diagnosis, treatment, surgery or patient data and communication?
At Anglo Arabian Healthcare, we have come up with few innovations in the recent past primarily using technology in this battle against Covid-19. To cite an example, we have come up with a technology to monitor asymptomatic or mild symptom cases in isolation (in their home) without having to bring them to a hospital until it is necessary.
Vital parameters such as oxygen saturation, blood pressure, temperature and pulse rate are monitored at regular intervals through this device, which will give the doctors based in the hospital an indication on how the patient’s condition is progressing. If there is any deterioration in the patient’s condition, this will be picked up by the software, alerts will pop up and steps can be taken to provide the right treatment for the patient to alleviate the symptoms. This will help to add to surge capacity and provide safe monitoring of the patient’s condition.
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