Second Middle East Conference on Healthcare Informatics inaugurated at Dubai Knowledge Village

The two-day event is being 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.

In his inaugural address His Excellency, Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan said that he was well aware of the power of information technology to accelerate and transform the development of the UAE healthcare system. "I agree with assumptions of the conference: first, that Information Technology has a great potential to help control costs and improve medical care in the Middle East region; second, that the use of IT to improve health care delivery requires thoughtful monitoring and continued analysis."

He added, "The development and implementation of electronic health records, the availability of electrical clinical decision support, and the building of other electronic health information infrastructures can all contribute to a more efficient and effective system".

However, he said that despite the great achievements in this sector so far, there were still important challenges ahead in promoting and implementing Healthcare Informatics throughout the medical world.

"Success requires major organizational changes. It requires new thinking and innovative ways of operating by hospitals and physicians. It also requires the careful monitoring of results and attitudes", His Excellency, Sheikh Nahayan said, in his inaugural address to the delegates.

He stressed the need for active partnerships between hospitals, physicians, IT developers and suppliers, and Colleges and Universities so that they can work together to build the necessary infrastructure, set the industry standards, and provide the training and research required for success.

"You should consider technology applications in other spheres, so that you can learn what not to do, as well as what might be effective. You should build national, regional and international coalitions. You must, in the end, show the people and institutions in the Middle East and beyond the great benefits of healthcare informatics"

His Excellency, Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan received mementos of appreciation shortly after opening the event from Prof. Angus Wallace on behalf of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and from Prof. George Carruthers, Dean of the College of Medicine and Prof. Rafic Makki, Dean of the College of IT, United Arab Emirates University on behalf of the conference Organising Team.

Also present at the inaugural session were His Excellency, Dr. Hadef Bin Jouaan Al-Daheri, Vice Chancellor of the UAE University and His Excellency, John Hawkins, British Consul General.

Iain Ledingham, Professor Emeritus of Medical Education, Honorary Consultant, Middle East Affairs, Faculty of Health Informatics, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh welcomed the dignitaries and delegates to the conference.
The keynote address was delivered by Richard Granger, Director General, NHS National Programme for IT, UK. He spoke on 'Digitizing the National Health Service'.

The opening day of the conference saw internationally renowned experts recounting their experiences and sharing their expertise with the delegates in the modalities associated during the adoption and implementation of state-of-the-art information technology in healthcare.

The Plenary session was addressed by some of the world's renowned Healthcare and IT experts including Dr. Najeeb Al-Shorabji, Regional Advisor, Health Information Support, Regional Office for the East Mediterranean, World Health Organization, who spoke on 'EMRO's approach for supporting e-Health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region'. Prof. Hiroshi Takeda, Professor of Medical Information Science, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan: Vice-President, International Medical Informatics Association, addressed the delegates on 'Towards Global Healthcare Networks-IMIA's role.'

The issue of 'Health Information Systems' was jointly presented by Dr. Ahmed Risk, Head-Clinical Operations, Cross Medical Services Group, London, UK, and Dr. Sherine Shalaby, Operations Manager, CMSEG (Electronic Health Records) Ltd, Cairo, Egypt.

In addition to the plenary session, Free paper/Poster presentations and Workshop sessions on 'Systems in the Healthcare workplace: Functionality, Sharing of Knowledge and Workflow' were also held on the opening day of the conference.

The speakers on the second day will make detailed analyses on the socio-technical outcomes in the evolution of healthcare informatics. The keynote speech on the second day will be made via video link by Professor Enrico Coiera, Professor and Foundation Chair in Medical Informatics, Centre for Health Informatics, University of New South Wales, Australia.