Zebra to participate in Healthcare Forum

Healthcare infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates has kept pace with other health care developments to ensure that adequate services are provided in the Emirates. Statistics show that in 1971 there were only seven hospitals and 700 beds in the UAE. By year 2000 the number of hospitals has risen to 51, the number of clinics and health centers has also increased from 21 to 115 modern centers. Thirty of the hospitals with a combined 4,496 patient beds are run by the Ministry of Health (MOH), while another four hospitals with 1,524 beds are run by Dubai's Department of Health and Medical Services (DOMS).

Managing such growth means looking at technology to find solutions to the many challenges the healthcare industry deals with every day. Three important topics, which address these challenges, will be discussed at the Fairmont Hotel in Dubai on 6 September 2006, by a panel of experts:

1. Patient Identification and why it is a fundamental part of patient care and critical to safe delivery of medication and treatment.

2. Management of blood products through the supply chain, a challenge many healthcare systems are faced with.

3. New opportunities to improve patient care and safety with the increase in wireless networks in hospitals.

"Applications such as patient ID, labelling of blood samples at the bedside and labelling of the blood products in the blood bank are serious topics and I am delighted to be part of this forum to explain what solutions are available today" explains Aileen McHugh, Health Expert, Zebra Technologies.

Other panelists of the event will come from leading consultants to the medical and enterprise sector such as Cerner and Symbol Technologies.

With more than 1500 clients worldwide, Cerner is taking the paper record out of healthcare, eliminating error and duplication for better patient care. For over 26 years, Cerner has been a leading healthcare information technology supplier, developing groundbreaking solutions to help clinicians organize and access medical data. Dr. Simon Wallace has 18 years experience in general practice, public health and ehealth and is representing Cerner in the forum.

Symbol Technologies is a recognized worldwide leader in enterprise mobility, delivering products and solutions that capture, move and manage information in real time. Symbol enterprise mobility products and solutions are proven to increase workforce productivity, reduce operating costs, drive operational efficiencies and realize competitive advantages for the world's leading companies. Tarek Hassaniyeh has many years of experience in the mobility sector, providing mobile automation solutions to the Middle East. He has worked very closely with integrators in Saudi Arabia and the UAE and will be part of Wednesdays panel.

According to the recently released UN Human Development Report for 2004, the UAE ranks 4th among the Arab nations, and 49th among the 177 member countries in terms of human development.