Tell us about yourself. What are you showcasing at Arab Health 2022?

I am the Group CEO of the Mohammad & Obaid AlMulla Group and the CEO of American Hospital Dubai, which is the flagship division of the Group. This year, we will be showcasing American Hospital's breakthroughs in key disease fields. Our centres of excellence in cancer, diabetes, cardiology, orthopaedics, etc., have been path-definers in treatment efficacy and transformative medicine, leading the fields with evidence-based care delivered with the highest values of patient-focused care. These dedicated centres are leaders in their field owing to our commitment to providing the best and latest treatment methods and application of medical discoveries.

A key theme this year is healthcare transformation. What does healthcare transformation mean to you?

To truly understand the importance of transformation, we must first know who the change will benefit and then work to make that happen. These imperatives alone define the purpose of transformation.

The reality is that myriad influences have shaped today's patient: greater access to information, self-empowerment through technology, redefined expectations from healthcare entities and a reshaped view of personal wellness and safety due to the pandemic. These have had an inalterable impact on patient attitudes and outlook. We are witnessing a new era in the urgency for healthcare entities to move beyond diagnosis and treatment and speed towards prevention and prediction. So, any form of transformation in healthcare must ultimately be patient focused.

The shift must be from service-provider focused operations to customer-intended facilities and performance, and relook process, approach, and values.

To what extent will emerging health technologies such as AI, IoT and big data influence your business priorities?

They have had a catalytic effect, and we are already in the entire flow of channeling their benefits to our patients. American Hospital Dubai was the first in the region to launch an Artificial Intelligence-led healthcare research centre in collaboration with Cerner, the global healthcare technology company. We are using Big Data for breakthroughs, with our AI-data lab's first set of data on 'COVID-19 Patient Mortality and ICU Admissions' having proven its purpose.

We have conducted more than 400 robot-assisted surgeries and transformed our operating systems to enhance a digital-ready workforce through industry-leading solutions.

As the world continues to pull out of the pandemic, are there any challenges still faced by your business, and how are you addressing these?

The pandemic's innate role is to produce challenges. It, in turn, creates the counterforce of staying alert to its changing pathway and demands. It is a global challenge for healthcare. American Hospital Dubai's successful experience in meeting the pandemic head-on has built a legacy of agility, forward-thinking and resource optimisation that further strengthens our patient-first mission and vision.

We launched the AI data lab at the start of the pandemic. Our response was to push evidence-based care, harness technology to maximise patient benefits, and raise our performance bar throughout the pandemic. We will continue to convert challenges into impetuses to provide the best treatment and value-based care as leaders in the field.

What will your business be prioritising in 'post-pandemic' times?

The pandemic is still alive and kicking, and the viral mutations are a window into the future. We believe studying their path and the pandemic's eventual fade-out is as essential as blueprinting the post-pandemic scenario. The importance of predictive medicine and preventive care delivery is here and now. The patient experience is the template that's already well understood, and we will use that as a fulcrum to shape our services and values.

American Hospital Dubai crossed new milestones since 2020: we expanded our Virtual Care depth of field, ushered in AI-led transformative solutions, are using Big Data for breakthroughs, increased performance efficiency through technological applications, and are pursuing continual investment in research for the common good. Each discipline is a spoke in the wheel of patient care, and we will continue to set the standards in this field.

How essential is the resumption of international travel to your business?

Medical tourism is a seminal aspect of Dubai's healthcare goals, and American Hospital Dubai is a committed partner of DXH (Dubai Health Experience). The resumption of international travel is not restricted to business aspirations; it's about achieving the higher goal of enabling access for patients worldwide who can benefit from Dubai's excellent, world-class medical services and facilities. American Hospital Dubai has been the preferred destination of international patients because of our leadership standards in patient-care focus and our undivided efforts to make the experience of the patient and accompanying family fully satisfying.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

The purpose of healthcare is one-pointed: it is all about delivering patient satisfaction and encouraging preventive health. Everything we do to achieve that aim is deserving of constant scrutiny of approach, ethical impetuses, practical methodologies, repurposing values, and empowering healthcare personnel to be the flag bearers of a healthier future for humanity. American Hospital Dubai will embody all these values at the Arab Health 2022.