2nd Middle East Conference on Healthcare Informatics to be held in Dubai in April

The event is being held in collaboration with the United Arab Emirates University and Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in association with the Department of Health and Medical Services, Dubai (DOHMS), and with the support of Knowledge Village, Dubai Healthcare City, Higher Colleges of Technology, Zayed University, British Council, Dubai, Harvard Medical School, Dubai Centre and British University of Dubai.

The theme of the conference will be "The role of Informatics in Healthcare, its implementation in clinical practice and the development of training and research across the Middle East region". The conference will be a confluence of top medical experts from across the Middle East and from around the world, who will brainstorm and work together to explore the role of informatics in healthcare and develop strategies for the implementation of best practices. In addition to the speakers, a number of eminent participants will present selected quality papers on several topics of interest to the conference.

The first day of the event will focus on the implementation and use of state-of-the-art technology in healthcare delivery. The second day will explore the socio-technical aspects of healthcare informatics.

Addressing a press conference to announce the event, Dr. Khaled Ghandour, the UAE representative to the Faculty of Medical Informatics Royal College of Surgeons, said: "This year's conference will have an expanded program, and cover a whole range of issues and evaluate e-health systems and services, in addition to exploring opportunities for collaborative research. We are delighted that many experts and speakers have already confirmed their participation at this year's conference. We expect many delegates representing different sectors from both government and private sector establishments to attend this event and benefit from the program of interactive and inspirational speeches and presentations. We are attaching significant importance to this event because the whole exercise is aimed at using the benefits of synergy that is generated at such gatherings".

The speakers at the event include medical experts and technocrats in the field of healthcare. Speakers will focus on the critical issues and challenges facing the healthcare sector with the discussions leading to draft recommendations to tackle them. As part of efforts to boost regional medical co-operation, a draft proposal on the formation of a Middle East Association of Health Informatics will be tabled at the conference.

The galaxy of key speakers include:
• Richard Granger Director General, NHS National Programme for Information Technology, U.K.
• Prof. Enrico Coiera Professor and Foundation Chair in Medical Informatics, Centre for Health Informatics, University of New South Wales, Australia
• Dr. John Halamka Chief Information Officer, Harvard Medical School and Clinical Research Institute, U.S.A
• Dr Najeeb Al-Shorbaji Regional Adviser, Health Information Support, Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, World Health Organization
• Prof. Hiroshi Takeda Professor of Medical Information Science, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan; Vice-President, International Medical Informatics Association
• Dr. Ahmad Risk eHealth and Health Informatics Consultant; Chair of the British Healthcare Internet Association
• Dr. Paul Whatling Senior Clinical Design Consultant, NHS National Programme for Information Technology, U.K.
• Dr. Bahaa Fateha Director of Quality Management, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
• Prof. Angus Wallace - Dean, Faculty of Health Informatics, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Speaking about the conference, Mr. Khaled Al Jallaf, Head of Quality Department, and Acting Director Licensing, DOHMS, said, "The conference will be instrumental in providing a platform for medical and computer professionals to share expertise and exchange experiences. The Department of Health and Medical Services is pleased to partner this prestigious event, as it will generate deliberations and discussions aimed at evaluating contemporary approaches and outline the best possible practices.

He added: " We are happy to see leading higher educational institutions and government organizations supporting this significant gathering of the medical fraternity and information technology professionals. Not only would this be an opportunity to network but also the perfect opportunity to consider the possibilities of conceiving path-breaking innovations and research."

Commenting on the UAE University's dual role (medicine & informatics) in the conference, Dr. George Carruthers, Dean of Faculty of Medicine, UAE University said: "This event will build on the success of the first conference held in 2002. Healthcare Informatics has now become extremely crucial to the development of a world-class integrated healthcare system. It is extremely important that we update ourselves on established trends and best practices. UAE University is committed to supporting projects that further enhance the role of higher education, and the image of UAE as a centre of innovation and excellence. We believe that initiatives like this will tremendously benefit the student and medical fraternity".

Dr. Rafic Makki, Dean of College of Information Technology, UAEU, added: "The College of IT is proud to be on the organizing committee of this important conference that brings together IT and medical experts into a single forum designed to capitilize on the synergy between the fields of IT and medicine, with the goal of ehancing the quality of the delivery of medical services and patient care."

Delegates to the conference will be from a wide spectrum of professionals from central and local governmental organizations to representatives of well-established private sector organisations and companies that are active in the healthcare and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors, associations working in healthcare delivery and education, academicians and technocrats involved in health sciences education and research, selected tutors and students in health sciences and ICT programmes.