As part of its mission to promote collaboration between healthcare ecosystems in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), HIMSS's Middle East Community for Healthcare Professionals stands out as one of the most dynamic groups in the organization. First launched in November 2021, this regional chapter serves as a platform for thought leaders from the GCC and wider MENA to unite and explore the cutting-edge developments in healthcare IT.
During a recent exclusive evening on the sidelines of the 6th GCC eHealth Workforce Development Conference (eHWDC 2023)the community unveiled its goals for the new year, with plans to increase membership across the territory.
Currently, the group connects health IT and other healthcare professionals from countries such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar, focusing on peer-to-peer networking , problem solving, education and knowledge exchange.
“This is the beauty of being part of the community; no one has everything, no one has all the knowledge. Everyone brings something unique to the table. It's this exchange of these unique ideas that really benefits everyone.”
Dr. Tamara Sunbul, medical director of clinical informatics at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare KSA and chair of the HIMSS Middle East Community
“We all share the same interest in healthcare IT, and we are coming together to see how we can support each other and advance healthcare IT in the Middle East,” said Dr. Tamara Sunbul, medical director of clinical informatics at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare KSA and Chairman of the HIMSS Middle East Community. “We also connect with other HIMSS communities around the world, supporting HIMSS at their conferences, with accreditations, training sessions, etc.
“This is the beauty of being part of the community; no one has everything, no one has all the knowledge. Everyone brings something unique to the table. It is this exchange of these unique ideas that truly benefits everyone. And (this is what) keeps them coming back again and again.
HIMSS COMMUNITY GOALS FOR THE MIDDLE EAST
During the networking evening, Professor Mahmood Adil, Ministerial Advisor to the Ministry of Health in Qatar – and member of the HIMSS EMEA Advisory Board – outlined the community's current key objectives. He elaborated on how the steering group actively identifies pain points, analyzes trends and outlines national eHealth and digital healthcare priorities with the aim of “bridging the healthcare innovation gap within the region”.
At the top of the agenda is connecting the region to global efforts led by HIMSS and its partner organizations, and sharing insights with members to help them deliver better healthcare through IT. Other objectives include actively promoting digital healthcare careers and healthcare collaboration models; promoting a region-wide commitment to digital health transformation; achieving high EMR, digital and data adaptability; and participation in conferences and events.
Dr. Sunbul explains: “(We can look at how) more privileged countries can support the other countries in terms of education, sharing best practices, or what they have learned on their journey. Because if one of us makes a mistake, we can't make it twice, right? We must learn from each other. And that also applies to when we have done something very good, we have to share it, because that is how we become better.”
Top topics of discussion among members lately include health information exchange (HIE) systems and overall digital maturity.
“For example, the UAE is very far along with its HIE, while Saudi Arabia has just launched its own HIE (NPHIES), so it's a matter of sharing their experiences – what went right, what went wrong – so that we don't repeat those mistakes. .”
Other notable areas, according to Dr. Sunbul, its digital healthcare solutions, revenue cycle management and population health programs include.
“We have (also just) begun discussing two areas where I believe our community can add value; the first is digital maturity – not just EMRs – there is also analytics maturity, a CISCOM for the supply chain, community outcomes and so on,” she says. “Some countries are actually adding these to their required certifications and even to the reimbursements for their hospitals.
“The second thing we also talked about is the importance of benchmarking across the Middle East and how we should always work with benchmarks outside the Middle East. We started brainstorming about this. Of course, it starts with all countries coming together and agreeing on a data dictionary.”
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
With plans to establish special interest groups, the HIMSS Middle East Community is now welcoming new members to join the group's next chapter. Professionals from across the ecosystem – public and private organizations, patient advocates, non-governmental payers and non-traditional providers such as pharmacies – are welcome to apply.
There are numerous benefits to participating for individual professional development, including meeting with local and government agencies, consulting on healthcare IT topics, submitting educational proposals for HIMSS virtual conferences and the HIMSS Global Conference, and serving as moderators or subject matter experts for HIMSS Events .
“We're trying to get more people, a more diverse group, to make sure we represent the entire region,” says Dr. Sunbul. “We also want to get some more leaders who can actually take on certain activities, or at least encourage people from their organizations to join. They will help us form special interest groups in the future.”
The ultimate dream for the HIMSS ME community, concludes Dr. Sunbul, is sharing knowledge on a larger scale.
“What I wish is that we have a really active steering committee with really active members. My dream is that (those special interest working groups) become self-sustaining with their own rotating membership, and that they start producing content such as white papers and case studies. We look forward to hearing from them at our conferences so they can come and tell us what they have learned and brought together over the past year.”