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Turkish firm to build hospital in Iraq
Iraq's health ministry has said it has signed an agreement with a Turkish firm to build a new hospital in the city of al-Nassiriya, Aswat al-Iraq news agency has reported. The 400-bed, $143.5m hospital will have three buildings that should comprise all medical specializations as well as 10 operation theatres, six maternity wards and training centres, the ministry said.
Daman launches disease management program
The UAE's National Health Insurance Co. (Daman) has launched its first Disease Management Program 'Sanadak', designed to help its diabetic Thiqa members manage their conditions. The first phase of the program will include face to face coaching and training sessions for members suffering from Type 2 diabetes non-insulin dependant. The program is free of charge to all Thiqa eligible members.
Abu Dhabi launches e-notification system for infectious diseases
Abu Dhabi's health sector regulator, the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi (HAAD) has launched a new e-notification system for infectious diseases. The new system aims at reducing HAAD's response time to incoming notifications, mitigating notification errors, getting real time notification and data validation and is a direct communication and feedback tool between physicians and HAAD. A series of training workshops will be conducted by the regulator for Abu Dhabi physicians on how to use the new system.
Abu Dhabi launches EMR system
Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Khalifa Medical City has announced that it has started using the electronic medical record (EMR) system in the surgical, nursing, medications and tests, laboratory and emergency departments, The National has reported. The system reduces the chances of errors by allowing doctors and nurses instant access to current records. The system will eventually connect all hospitals and clinics run by SEHA, the health services company that operates government hospitals in the emirate.
GCC healthcare market to hit $50bn by 2020
A report by investment bank, Alpen Capital projects the health care market in the GCC to grow at around 9% annually to reach from $47bn to $55bn by 2020, Gulf News has reported. 'The growth will be driven by both an increase in demand (increased number of treatments) and the cost of health care provision (average cost per treatment),' the report said. The GCC may also require in excess of 25,000 additional beds by 2020 to address the growing demand for in-patient treatments. Last year, 46 million medical treatments were conducted across the region, of which 91% were outpatients, generating $18bn in revenue, according to the report.
Jordan: Foreign nurses to need accredited degrees
Jordanian ministry of health has said that the employment of foreign nurses will soon be restricted to those with degrees accredited by the kingdom's ministry of higher education, Jordan Times has reported. Some 300 foreign nurses, mainly from the Philippines, Egypt and India, are currently working in the kingdom, according the ministry.
Egypt, Jordan to accelerate pharmaceutical registration
Jordan and Egypt have agreed to accelerate the registration of Jordanian- and Egyptian-made pharmaceuticals in both countries to facilitate trade, the Jordan Times has reported. Under the new agreement, registration of Jordanian drugs in Egypt will be reduced to six months from two years. According to official figures, Egypt imported JD5.25m worth of Jordanian medicines in 2008, while Jordan imported JD5.6m worth of Egyptian pharmaceuticals during the same period.
Jordan's KHCF inks $600k grant deal with Opec fund
Jordan's King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF) has signed a $600,000 grant agreement with the Opec Fund for International Development (OFID), Kuna has reported. The funds will be allocated for the purchase of modern equipment for the Centre's Interventional Radiological Suite, as well as the construction and modification of the suite to accommodate the new equipment.
WHO revises Aids treatment advice
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that people infected with the HIV virus that causes Aids should start treatment earlier than currently recommended, the Associated Press has reported. The WHO now advises doctors to start treatment for HIV patients when their level of CD4 cells, a measure of the immune system, is about 350. The UN agency's advice raises questions about how countries and donor agencies will pay for the lifelong Aids treatment. About four million people worldwide are receiving Aids drugs, but another five million are still waiting in line. With its new recommendations, the WHO estimates that another three to five million people now qualify for the drugs.
UAE needs youth smoking ban, say doctors
A national smoking ban is needed soon in the UAE to help protect the health of young people, several doctors told the National newspaper. 'We need legislation, education and taxation' on tobacco products, Dr Wael al Mahmeed, head of the Emirates Cardiac Society, told the daily. 'There is evidence which links the risk of heart attack to the amount of tobacco someone smokes, so stopping smoking at any time will reduce the risk.' Health authorities are spending significant amounts of their public health budgets on anti-tobacco campaigns, specifically targeting schoolchildren and young people. A federal law banning smoking in public places was drafted in 2006 by the Ministry of Health, but has yet to be implemented.
Hajj pilgrim dies from H1N1 virus
Saudi Arabian health authorities have reported the fifth H1N1 flu-related death among pilgrims of this year's Hajj pilgrimage, Reuters has reported. The kingdom had reported four pilgrim deaths from the H1N1 flu virus in the days leading up to the start of the Hajj rituals, which began last Wednesday.
Cardiovascular disease cases to triple in Middle East
The number of cases involving cardiovascular diseases will triple within the next three years in the Middle East, putting extra pressure on the region's health care syste, Dr Mahmoud Fikri, chief executive of health policies in the UAE Ministry of Health, told Gulf News. An estimated 36% of the population in the UAE suffer from hypertension, he noted.
New website to help nurses find jobs
The Jordan Nurses Association plans to launch a career services website early next year to assist Jordanian nurses secure jobs, Jordan Times has reported. The website, which will function as a link between job seekers and employers, will offer free recruitment services to around 2,000 unemployed Jordanian nurses.
RAK Hospital opens catheterization laboratory
RAK Hospital has announced the launch of the first Catheterization Laboratory of the northern emirates. The new Cath Lab is an examination room with diagnostic imaging equipment used to support the catheterization procedure, which involves a catheter being inserted into a large artery. The milti-speciality specialty healthcare facility was jointly set up by the ETA Star Healthcare and the government of Ras Al Khaimah, and managed by Sonnenhof Swiss Health.
UAE to have biotech plant
The Emirates Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Co. has signed an agreement with Korean biomedical firms, G.L. Rapha and Hankook Korus Pharm, to set up the region's first biotechnology plant in the UAE, Wam has reported. The $150m plant will produce drugs to treat diabetes mellitus, nephrological diseases and tumours. The plant is expected to begin production in two years and will employ over 300 technical personnel specialised in the field.
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