MENA region on the verge of digital transformatiomn: Ahmed Elbanna

In the next three to five years, we will see a complete digital transformation of the healthcare industry, with implications for everything from medical equipment to customer service to telemedicine to the myriad mobility applications that will allow patients to receive care more quickly and more conveniently, no matter where they are or what time of day it is. Thus, this fits in with our mission to provide cutting-edge medical treatment whenever and wherever it is needed. This is, therefore, what we accept as true.

Green healthcare will penetrate deeper into the region

From a changing population and rising expectations to the rise of chronic and lifestyle-related diseases, healthcare in the GCC area faces many obstacles. Healthcare spending in the GCC region will need to rise by 400% from current levels, according to a prominent international accounting firm. Recognizing these obstacles only strengthens the case for GCC governments to pursue more creative and sustainable methods of providing healthcare.

With help from other countries, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia ( KSA) has built a world-class healthcare infrastructure that can meet the needs of its 9.3 million citizens indefinitely. "His Majesty" Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, introduced a seven-year UAE National Agenda, that aimed to address six national objectives, two of which being 'world class healthcare' and 'sustainable environment and infrastructure'. The country takes a novel approach by addressing both of these issues at once through initiatives like the Green Economy Project, a wide-ranging strategy that promotes the use of green building materials in healthcare infrastructure, and the Smart City Project, which offers logistical solutions like healthcare apps and mobile clinics.

In the healthcare industry, an annual reporting, measurement tool is an important box to check before the end of the fiscal year and before findings are delivered to the local authorities. You must disclose the extent to which your company has implemented environmental and societal policies and procedures.

Stretching further on this development, Ahmed Elbanna, CEO, Saudi German Hospital Jeddah stated, “As a result, the healthcare industry and excellent health, environmental, and social governance are centre stage. We have the biggest footprint of any healthcare organisation in the Middle East, with 13 hospitals and our own construction firm. We are required to submit an application for the Leeds management certificate in our buildings whenever we plan to create or construct a new facility.”

“We are considering how this structure can benefit the local population and its customers by providing first-rate amenities with minimal negative effects on the environment. As a result, we typically install solar panels on our roofs for the sole purpose of providing emergency power. Additionally, the service infrastructure is guaranteeing at least 40% of the emergency power. Patients undergoing dialysis treatment are another illustration of our work. All the waste products of these devices are collected and recycled for use in the agricultural system. This is beneficial to the plants in and around the booth and outside the stadium. The water and the sun are the two main elements that we use. We typically construct these ourselves,” he added further.

Further adding on benefits of adopting sustainability, he said, “We have sensors installed throughout the building to reduce our energy usage, which has helped us save significantly on our monthly electricity costs. After implementing this, we saw a 30% decrease in our annual energy bill for a single building, which boosted the building's financial performance. Thus, whenever a new building is constructed, this becomes a very large and space-consuming addition to the rooftop, releasing a great deal of heat and smog into the neighbourhood while also increasing the demand for chilled water and the corresponding expansion of water pipes. This means that you can get it whenever you like. And that means matching up with business hours. When not in use, some machines have been put into sleep state. As a result, we have been able to more accurately portray our company's societal responsibility to the public.”

Painting green by managing plastic waste

Safe medical waste handling has been recognised as an issue of global importance. All healthcare facilities, from clinics and doctors' offices to blood banks and mortuaries. Infectious waste (also known as hazardous medical waste) accounts for 15–25% of all healthcare garbage and poses the greatest threat to human health. Blood and blood products, used catheters and gloves, cultures and stocks of infectious agents, wound dressings, nappies, discarded diagnostic samples, contaminated materials (swabs, bandages, and gauze), disposal medical devices, contaminated laboratory animals, etc. may all fall under the category of infectious wastes.

Talking about managing this waste in more eco-friendly way, Elbanna said, “Something similar to managing waste in eco-friendly way is included in our yearly monitoring report every year as required reporting to a government agency. A key element is our system for managing and regulating rubbish. Consequently, we have adopted a system whereby our crush bins are separated into three distinct compartments. One for non-recyclable plastics, one for recyclables, and one for glass and retail packaging. Also, as a hospital, we need this for our hazardous refuse. Therefore, we must segregate our garbage by colour, placing biohazardous refuse in red bags, infectious materials in yellow bags, contaminated garbage in green bags, and so on. This results in a total of five distinct colour schemes for trash. The government has approved a company to serve as a supplier replacement, collecting and processing recyclables. This means that there is a specialised firm whose sole purpose is to gather and process such items.”

“The hospital environment is very advanced and complicated, and so is the question of how to control waste. Business, for example, includes everything you could need in one place, including food and labour administration as well as medication and supply management. This raises the question of how to modify existing policies and processes to meet the requirements of various hospital accreditations, given that they all have their own unique set of rules to follow. You'll find specific instructions for dealing with things like discarded medications in their respective chapters. Therefore, there is a policy that stipulates all medications must be returned from all sub areas, clinics, inpatient rooms, and sub stores at least six to three months before their expiration dates. The main store will then need to communicate with the supplier, who will then come in and take the medications and manage the waste,” he opined further.

Obstacles cutting the road to success

Certain conditions must be met before a proposed remedy will be adopted and used. Foremost is dependability. Second, how can you make sure that these options are safe for the healthcare sector, and third, perhaps the availability and technology. As such, whenever the time comes to consider what sort of push should be made, etc., these are the factors that typically spring to mind.  Players of  healthcare face many obstacles, such as figuring out how to provide a better environment for their patients.. In order to work in a safer, more pleasant setting with access to better amenities, you can choose from a wide variety of credentials available today.

Another important factor is providing cutting-edge medical treatment to patients, which necessitates having the most recent equipment. Because modern technology undergoes radical shifts every three years, this presents a significant obstacle. Rather than the seven to ten years it took in the past, today's tools and new technology see an upgrade every two to three years. So how do one maintains the momentum to provide them with world-class medical services and patient treatment by using state-of-the-art systems, biomedical equipment, and healthy, safe food? This is all part of the second test.

The third difficulty is the expense of running the business. The current high rate of inflation and the excessive use of energy pose serious challenges to the day-to-day operations of any business. As a publicly traded business, the expectations of our investors and other stakeholders are high, so we have to make sure that we deliver.

“We regularly consider ways to lessen the impact of energy and general and administrative costs on our bottom line. Since our complex is in operation around the clock, every day of the year, we face a unique set of difficulties that may not be encountered in other industries. How to be prepared for a pandemic or disease is the final topic. Like the COVID-19 virus that caused widespread economic damage. Our fourth obstacle is how to improve accessibility in advance of a catastrophe. This is one of the most difficult tasks we face. These are the four tests, then. Finally, we have a supplier engagement procedure to help us better serve our clients. How can we improve our effectiveness for our vendors? In the present day, we have established something termed and the IT systems. vendor supply management describes this process. Thus, previously, only our employees saw our warehouse management. Now, in order to improve supply chain management, we have set up our IT infrastructure so that suppliers can view the inventory of only the goods they supply. So, they'll know ahead of time how to replace stocks automatically without having to call them and get them in order to meet the minimum stock level. That's why it's so difficult to maintain what are known as "just in time" supplies: they must be delivered exactly when they're needed. So, this is a common problem in the hospital system,” said Elbanna.

AI is the current pulse of the region

The use of AI is becoming increasingly popular, and many experts predict that it will replace many human occupations within the next decade. In the realm of imaging, the most cutting-edge technology and artificial intelligence have enabled machines to learn from data in order to improve accuracy. So, this is the form the reward should take; after a short review or audit, the data could be made public with minimal effort. Because of this, it is imperative that the machine understand what the imaging findings are based on the inputs and corrections provided by the artificial intelligence.

“Right now, robotic spinal surgery is a reality for us. As a result, knee replacements and some some arthroplasty procedures are now being performed by robots, an immensely beneficial development. Patients are experiencing less discomfort, recovering faster, and spending fewer days in the hospital as a result, all of which contributes to a reduction in overall healthcare costs,” said Elbanna.

“In the future, artificial intelligence will replicate many occupations, which will have real consequences for humans. As in other fields, this is the future of education. We are almost completely automating processes now due to a lack of a modelling laboratory. If you're a doctor and you don't have access to a hospital or a job yet, you won't be able to conduct conventional lab tests. In order to get the most out of your training, visit a simulation centre where every mannequin and training tool is hooked up to a computer, camera, and dashboard. Every action you take in this lab—which is really just a replica of a hospital—will make you feel as though you're truly in a real hospital,” he commented further.

Because AI can read and report to a decision support system when one writes, for example, two different medications for the same patient, it will also aid in accurate diagnosis, which is important for the patient's well-being. The device will alert you if an allergy is detected. DSS stands for "decision support system" and is a relatively new concept. In cases where there is a discrepancy or error, the algorithm will alert you to the fact that you should exercise caution. As a result, doctors are less likely to prescribe the incorrect drugs or implement ineffective treatment plans before reading up on the topic further (via Google, books, etc.). It has been integrated into the system at this point. The potential for harm to the sufferer is thus removed.

In his free time, Ahmed likes to read books and in his organization, he has developed unique system which allows the people of the organization to assess a particular book. “We pick up a book to read and discuss as a large Whatsapp group. In other words, everybody is going to be here today. Meanwhile, one of us gives a summary of the text for the rest of us to listen to. It usually takes about half an hour, and then we have 15 minutes of open conversation about the useful lessons we've learned from the book. As a result, you gain valuable insight into the minds of your coworkers and the range of ideas they bring to the table,” said Elbanna. Apart from this, he likes to indulge in sports which is one of the major past time activity.