The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council hosted a series of three roundtable discussions on Tuesday January 28th 2020 in Dubai with His Excellency Mohamed Al Hameli and other senior Emirati officials from the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, Mubadala Healthcare, Malaffi, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and Zayed Military Hospital.

These roundtable discussions, which were held on the sidelines of Arab Health, served to highlight developments in the Abu Dhabi healthcare ecosystem and provided executives from leading U.S. healthcare companies with an overview of new opportunities for partnership. The Business Council first welcomed senior officials from Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Military Hospital. Following a brief introduction by U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council President Danny Sebright, Dr. Abdulrahman Alblooshi, Commander of Zayed Military Hospital and Consultant in Cardiac Surgery, provided an overview of the hospital and its renewed focus on trauma, burn and rehabilitation care.

Subsequently, Zayed Military Hospital officials engaged in a moderated discussion and question & answer session with attendees on how the hospital can collaborate with other U.S. and U.A.E. institutions to provide world-class healthcare to U.A.E. military personnel.

From L to R: Engineer Naseer Al Qasemi, Information Technology Officer & Computer Engineer; Dr. Hamdan Alhemeiri, Head of Information Technology & General Practitioner; Dr. Amal Aldhanhani, Deputy Chairman of the Military Medical Committee & Consultant in Family Medicine; Doctor Abdulrahman Alblooshi, Commander of Zayed Military Hospital and Consultant in Cardiac Surgery; Dr. Rashed Al Suwaidi, Chairman of the Military Medical Committee & Consultant in Ophthalmology; and Mr. Danny Sebright, President, U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council

At a second event, the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council hosted a luncheon with the Acting Head of Mubadala Healthcare Mr. Hasan Al Nowais, Malaffi CEO Mr. Atif Al Braiki and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi Chief Operating Officer Dr. Fahed Almarzooqi. The three speakers offered their perspectives on Abu Dhabi’s healthcare landscape in particular and U.A.E. healthcare writ large. They also described how U.S. healthcare providers and companies can become more involved in this dynamic market.

In his remarks, Mr. Al Nowais delivered an update about the latest developments in the healthcare vertical at Mubadala. He also discussed opportunities for partnership with Mubadala Healthcare’s portfolio companies, which include Abu Dhabi Telemedicine Centre, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Healthpoint, Imperial College London Diabetes Centre, and National Reference Laboratory. In the same session, Mr. Al Braiki provided an overview of Malaffi, which was developed as part of a Public Private Partnership between the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DOH) and Injazat Data Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala. Malaffi developed the region’s first unified health information exchange (HIE) platform which enables healthcare professionals and government entities to access and share patients’ medical information in order to deliver better quality of care. Finally, Dr. Al Marzooqi described the great success Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has achieved in the marketplace and its appeal for patients as a center of healthcare excellence in the wider region.

The three speakers also discussed the growing importance of technology and artificial intelligence in healthcare and how these developments will increasingly be used to improve the health and wellbeing of people in the U.A.E. and all over the world.

From L to R: Dr. Fahed Al Marzooqi, Chief Operating Officer, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi; Mr. Hasan Al Nowais, Acting Head, Mubadala Healthcare; Mr. Atif Al Braiki, CEO, Malaffi; and Mr. Danny Sebright, President, U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council

At the final event of the day, the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council hosted His Excellency Mohamed Al Hameli, Undersecretary at the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DOH) for a roundtable discussion with U.S. business leaders. H.E. Al Hameli included key members of his team who were also able to offer their perspectives on partnerships with U.S. healthcare providers. His Excellency reviewed recent healthcare policy changes in Abu Dhabi and provided updates for the year ahead. He emphasized the importance of Abu Dhabi becoming a hub for world-class healthcare services, medical research and development, and innovation. He discussed Abu Dhabi’s genome sequencing project. His Excellency and his team underscored DOH’s vision for the future and its commitment to having a healthy population supported by a high-quality healthcare system that partners with U.S. hospitals and healthcare companies both in Abu Dhabi and the United States.

From L to R: Dr. Asma Al Mannaie, Director of Quality and Medical Tourism; Ms. Hind Al Zaabi, Director of International Patient Care; H.E. Mohamed Al Hameli, Undersecretary; Dr. Hamed Al Hashemi, Director of Strategy; Dr. Omar Najim, PMO Lead and Special Project; Mr. Danny Sebright, President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council; and Dr. Lawrence Petalidis, Innovation and Research Advisor