Interview by Hospitals Magazine
Hospitals Magazine: Original Publication Link
“We have a pioneering model that provides an ideal integration of healthcare services”
Fakeeh University Hospital provides a qualitative addition to the healthcare scene in Dubai, to offer a pioneering model as a fully digital and smart hospital and provides an ideal integration of healthcare services through the adoption of smart technology, in addition to the highly skilled medical staff. Dr. Fatih Mehmet Gul, CEO of Fakeeh University Hospital, gave an interview to “Hospitals” magazine in which he discussed the hospital’s strategy and the vision adopted to provide the finest health services that fit the patients’ needs through smart services that make it one of the smartest medical institutions in the region.
First, we would like to talk about your strategy to provide a pioneering model in the healthcare sector?
Our group aims to be a leading integrated healthcare services provider in the region. Our key goals include enhancing clinical outcomes and patient experience using our tested care giving model. The group’s strategy focuses on being an integrated healthcare entity with footprint across the entire region. With special impetus on medical academia and training. Hence, Fakeeh University Hospital’s pioneering model provides a perfect fusion of healthcare services with academic excellence, which has been developed over the last 43 years.
What is the vision adopted in patient care that has made you today the benchmark of excellence and a patient destination?
Fakeeh University Hospital’s vision is to deliver the highest quality of outcomes for its patients, which is attained through adoption of smart technology and our carefully-chosen staff. All our staff members are custodians of our value system, along with being highly skilled, compassionate, and empathetic, which helps them to provide innate care for the patients.
It was a conscious decision to build Fakeeh University Hospital as a fully smart and digital hospital. The hospital’s integrated electronic medical records, provide supporting improvements to the quality and efficiency of healthcare services for patients and the community at large.
What makes the hospital a preferred destination, is that along with our highly-trained staff, our entire facility keeps patients at the center. All the patient rooms have been articulately designed with their comfort in mind. The rooms are all encompassing of the latest helpful medical technologies, an infotainment system and various assistive services. Fakeeh University Hospital also has an unmatched Patient App that places access to care and medical records at the fingertips of patients.
We have created our own benchmarks. An instance, the hospital’s Centralized Command Centre (C3), which is used extensively to monitor the entire hospital operations in real time. This supports us in delivering patient care at its epitome of efficiency. The hospital’s design has been curated thoughtfully with all life-saving services next to each other, thus being easily accessible.
Perhaps one of the hospital’s main features is the combination of medical expertise and academic research. How does this contribute to providing the finest health services that suit patients’ needs?
Healthcare is an ever-evolving industry. Every day we see newer inventions, innovations, and techniques being introduced. The advancements help healthcare providers like us to push the level of patient care even higher.
Thus, academic research is a key feature of the hospital, which will provide our doctors the necessary tools to improve patient outcomes. Our research will be targeted towards filling vital gaps in patients’ needs. We have a roadmap prepared to build a University in the near future. Fakeeh University Hospital will also lead the way in creation of Centers of Excellence in medical education and research.
The opening of Fakeeh University Hospital in Dubai is the first expansion of Fakeeh Healthcare Group outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. What is the reason for choosing Dubai, Dubai Silicon Oasis in particular?
One of the group’s key strategies for growth has been to geographically diversify the business beyond Saudi Arabia. The decision to choose and expand into Dubai was arrived at because of the stable regulations and a developed infrastructure here. Additionally, a key consideration was that Dubai is the hub for healthcare in the region. Dubai Silicon Oasis was particularly chosen, as the group felt it suited the business growth strategy, wherein a smart hospital can be established and all nearby locations can also be brought under the umbrella of care delivery. It is easily accessible through two main highways and the distance to DSO from all other Emirates is almost same.
What are the main elements of excellence that you are committed to and that have brought you to this global position after four decades of experience?
We follow a multidisciplinary approach and ensure cohesive teamwork. In the treatment plan of the patient, staff from different levels of the treatment pyramid are engaged. Such an approach is known to improve healthcare outcomes, reduce mortality rates and elevate patient satisfaction.
Our integrated data system gives the care model an additional edge. It seamlessly manages large unstructured patient data information, thereby aiding the doctors to make right treatment decisions at right time and thus, improve the overall quality of care. It also assists doctors to remotely monitor and manage the patient’s health, while either one of them being in any part of the world.
Lastly, Fakeeh University Hospital provides connected services across the continuum of hospital care, home care, and also virtual care. This way, we can make sure that there are no gaps in the care delivery track for our patients. Learning from the legacy of our parent group, Fakeeh Care, we have arrived at care delivery models that have the capability to transform lives through clinical excellence, compassionate care and health education.
Today, the Hospital is one of the smartest medical facilities in the region. What are the systems in place that enabled you to achieve this?
True. The hospital has been built as a smart and future-ready facility. Some of the systems and facilities that make us ‘smart’ are, the elaborate and user-friendly app for patients – FUH Care, the hospital’s Centralized Command Centre (C3), an unmatched Hospital Navigation System, a multi-disciplinary team approach, and enhanced recovery protocols for faster healing.
FUH Care app is a wonderful tool developed by our team. With the use of Artificial Intelligence, it helps in patient registration and token generation from the comfort of the patient’s homes. Not only it saves time for the patients, it also allows us to be prepared in advance, and run the care process more efficiently.
Other highlights of the App include physician counseling, treatment planning, treatment information like access to lab reports and real time access to medications prescribed, early triage, post-discharge follow-ups, availability of informative healthcare content, and full data sharing with the patient.
Our international patients have benefitted immensely from the App. They can easily submit their existing medical record, while staying in their home country. Patient data integration and treatment planning can take place much before they travel and reach our hospital.
The patient infotainment system is also one of our key highlights. For today’s tech-savvy patients, it provides easy access to patient’s own medical information (in their regional language) and entertainment platforms, by a simple click of a button.
Other features that are being appreciated by our patients are region specific entertainment channels, meal ordering options where patients can also customize their meal/s (specific to their regional taste), concierge services management, and patient education content. From the infrastructure point of view, we have a 100% green building, and a smoke-free environment, to help patients recover faster and to enable our staff to perform better.