Second Middle East Conference on Healthcare Informatics concludes

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The conference concluded with several key recommendations for the region's healthcare informatics system, that assessed the core modalities involved in the integration of IT enabled systems into the delivery of healthcare. The Second Middle East Conference on Healthcare Informatics also saw for the very first time in the region the formation of the Middle East Association of Healthcare Informatics, which will function as an autonomous Middle East regional chapter of the International Medical Informatics Association. The professional body's key tasks will include providing support, impetus and to strengthen biomedical and health informatics activities across the region.

The two-day event was organized by the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) and Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSE) with the support of the Department of Health and Medical Services, Dubai (DOHMS), the World Health Organization(WHO), Ministry of Health, Dubai Healthcare City, University of Bath, Knowledge Village, Dubai Healthcare City, Higher Colleges of Technology(HCT), Zayed University(ZU), International Medical Informatics Association(IMIA), British Council, Harvard Medical School, Dubai Centre and British University in Dubai.

The keynote address on the second day was delivered by Professor Enrico Coiera, Professor and Foundation Chair in Medical Informatics, Centre for Health Informatics, University of New South Wales, Australia via video-link. He spoke on 'Socio technical systems : Four rules for the Reinvention of Healthcare.'

Speaking on the formation of the Association, Iain Ledingham, Professor Emeritus of Medical Education, Honorary Consultant, Middle East Affairs, Faculty of Health Informatics, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh said that such an autonomous and professional body would ensure the much-needed research and monitoring mechanism for healthcare informatics. He said that such a mechanism is crucial for the adoption and integration of advanced technological systems for delivering quality healthcare. He also mentioned that the association will perform a very key function by following up on the recommendations that were tabled at the conference. The inaugural meeting of the Middle East Association of Healthcare Informatics will be held on Monday April 11, 2005.

Outlining some of the key recommendations that were made at the end of the conference he said: 'There was an affirmative consensus on developing region-specific healthcare informatics system in line with distinct needs of the region. Care should be taken that systems that are successful elsewhere are not replicated, ignoring the uniqueness of the region's medical needs. We need to start small but definitely and steadily we must spread the sphere of integration'.

He added: 'One recurring theme throughout the conference was for the need for active involvement of the user in the development of the system. This would ensure that the systems are responsive to the needs of the medical community and help them in being able to effectively deliver timely and quality healthcare.'

Prof. Iain Ledingham also recommended that priority must be given to address the issue of lack of adequate and accurate data that serves as the main channel of input into the systems. He remarked that inaccurate data would negate the results and thereby defeat the very purpose of the system that is developed. He mentioned that efforts must be made to consistently maintain the accuracy and quality of the inputs to the system in place.

Speaking on the key messages of the conference Dr. Rafic Makki, Dean, College of Information Technology , United Arab Emirates University said, ' The conference was successful in sending a clear message regarding not only the ability of IT- enabled medical systems to efficiently deliver healthcare but also in tremendously minimizing the risks associated with it. The conference was also to able to address key concerns of the medical community that the introduction of information technology can in some way disrupt time-tested diagnosis and also delved on the issues surrounding resistance to change by the medical community. There has been a very evident consensus on the imminent need to develop and improve customized, result oriented and efficient healthcare informatics system in the region.'

The second day's plenary session was addressed by some of the most experienced professionals in the Healthcare and IT sector. The main speakers include Dr. John Halamka, Chief Information Officer, Harvard Medical School and Clinical Research Institutive,USA who spoke on 'Connecting Patients, Payers and Providers: Challenges in Healthcare Informatics', Prof. Angus Wallace, Dean , Faculty of Health Informatics, The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh addressed the delegates on 'The Electronic Logbook for Orthopedic Surgeons: 18 Months Experience in the UK', Dr. Jeffrey Soar, Director, Centre for Health & Agedcare Informatics, University of Southern Queensland, Australia spoke on 'Informatics in Health and Aged care: A research Program to Support Strategy Development and Implementation', Dr. Henry Thompson, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh spoke on 'Health Informatics, the Semantic Web and Public policy ; Balancing wishful Thinking with Realism'.

In addition to the plenary session, Free paper/Poster presentations and Workshop sessions on 'The Way Ahead: Recommendations for Healthcare Practice, Research, Education and Training' were also held on the second day of the conference.

A post -Conference Research workshop on 'Developing Health Informatics Research in the UAE will be held on Monday April 11, 2005 at the British University in Dubai.