Doha, Qatar: Qatar has seen a remarkable shift in patient-centered care and recorded significant achievements, officials said yesterday at the Person-Centered Care Forum 2023.
The event, organised by Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), gathered around 2000 healthcare professionals and focused on 'Inspire, Innovate, and Adapt: The Future of Person-Centered Care'.
The annual Forum aims at fostering a culture of excellence that ensures every patient receives the highest quality of care in a safe and compassionate environment.
HMC Chief Medical Officer and forum co-chair, Dr. Abdulla Al Ansari, highlighted the significance of Qatar’s prominent presence at the forum, noting that it signifies establishing a distinctive culture of person-centered care at HMC and in the country.
“I am especially pleased with the number of Qatar-based presentations and speakers in this year’s forum. It demonstrates that we are truly creating our culture of person-centered care at HMC and in Qatar,” he said.
“It also shows our continuous dedication to person-centered care reflects its unwavering commitment to providing compassionate, holistic, and patient-centric services,” he added.
The two-day forum was held in partnership with internationally renowned US-based healthcare consultants Planetree International.
Local and international speakers discussed and shared knowledge during the forum under three tracks — Innovation in Person-Centered Care Practice, Compassion – Empathy in Action, and Partnership and Co-designing Care.
Conference co-chair Nasser Al Naimi, who is Deputy Chief of Quality, Center for Patient Experience and Staff Engagement at HMC as well as Director of Hamad Healthcare Quality Institute, emphasised the responsibility of healthcare professionals towards patient-centered care.
“In recent years, we have seen a great shift in patient-centered care in technology, healthcare policies, and in meeting patient expectations as they see more into their care,” he said.
Highlighting the importance of the forum, he said, “The Forum programme was designed to challenge our attendees to think critically and creatively about patient-centered care while providing actionable suggestions and strategies that practitioners can use to enhance the patient experience.”
President of Planetree International, Dr. Susan Frampton, said HMC has archived progress during the challenging time by five sites — the Communicable Disease Center, the Home Healthcare Service, the Private Nursing Service, the Ambulatory Care Center, and the Enaya Specialized Care Center, achieving certification in person-centered care from Planetree International.
She said the Women Wellness and Research Centre, Heart Hospital, Al Wakra Hospital, and the Emergency Department at the Hamad General Hospital are now working on the certification.
“The 2023 Forum aligns perfectly with our framework for person-centered excellence, delivering innovative and actionable approaches to enable organisations at every stage of their person-centered journey to deliver high-value, compassionate care. Planetree International is pleased to support the forum, and we are also pleased to see the growing momentum for person-centered excellence in Qatar and the region,” said Dr. Frampton.
