(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Doha: The recent successful Community health Forum, organized by the Community Health team at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), is part of a concerted effort to determine the next steps needed to guide the future developmental efforts of community healthcare in alignment with Qatar's National Vision 2030.
Globally community-based healthcare services increasingly focus on population wellbeing and encourage the development of programs to help community members to protect and improve their health. The Forum agenda was underpinned by the growing importance of value-based care which includes strategies to prevent acute healthcare episodes and boost the health of a population; community-based healthcare is essential in helping to booth targeted population health.
Dr Mahmoud Al Raisi, Chief of Continuing Care at HMC and one of the special guests at the Forum, stated that“In line with international best practices, our goal in Qatar is to develop more good community health programs that deliver strong patient care services. Research has shown that effective community care ensures better patient health and recovery outcomes and also brings about health sector efficiencies.”
“All our efforts focus on sustainably improving community health and healthcare, and we are guided by the National Health Strategy's triple aim to achieve 'better health, better care and better value' that will serve current and future patient populations. We review international best practices and see what works best for our population in Qatar so that we develop culturally relevant programs and services. This Forum is a great example of multi-disciplinary healthcare professionals collaborating to discuss how we can enhance the care in our communities,” added Dr. Al Raisi.
The Forum was initiated by Nadya Al Rauili, Executive Director of Nursing, Private Nursing Services, Home Healthcare Services, and Community Medical Equipment Services, who said there was a growing need to focus on community health development:“In Qatar, we have certain prevalent health conditions, many of these are chronic health conditions that affect how people live. For instance, more than 70% of people are obese which contributes to the fact that more than 44% of people have heart disease and 17% have diabetes. Our community-based healthcare teams provide important medical and nursing care for our patients, as well as being the conduit for access to more acute care when needed, they also offer important educational services.”
“We are also looking at ways to continually improve access to preventive healthcare services so that our patients can live more healthily and more independently for longer. All these measures will help lower medical costs and improve healthcare efficiencies that in turn enable more investment in new services for older people,” added Ms. Al Rauili.“Our community-based healthcare professionals are trained to engage with their patients in a culturally adept manner. Forming strong bonds with the patients and families they interact with, promotes shared decision making in the care of the patient which aids improved health outcomes.”
The Forum was supported by a multidisciplinary group of presenters, including physicians, nurses, educators, senior managers and HMC stakeholders. The Forum highlighted key realizations, including the importance of integration of patient care with IT systems and better data collection capabilities; the need for enhancing communications between patients, communities and healthcare professionals; the value of upskilling of community-based healthcare staff.
The community healthcare efforts of HMC aim to promote more holistic care that includes a focus on preventive care services along with healthy lifestyle education across communities in Qatar. Rehabilitative care is another key focus area, aimed at supporting the reintegration of patients into the community and enabling them to live in the comfort of their homes.
Future Forums are planned over the next couple of years and will include wider engagement of strategic partners.
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