How to plug gaps in healthcare delivery

Dubai - More time needs to be given to issues relating to mental health, as well as diseases like Tuberculosis, says expert.

Delivering the right mental health treatment to patients around the world is an area often neglected by healthcare facilities, according to Director of Harvard Medical School's Centre for Global Health Delivery in Dubai, Dr Salman Keshavjee.
Speaking on the sidelines of the centre's inaugural symposium at the Dubai Health Care City on Sunday, Dr Keshavjee said the focus of this year's symposium was on the challenges facing healthcare delivery in the 21st century.
"There is a huge gap when it comes to healthcare delivery. We need to exchange knowledge on how to best close this gap and get the right treatment to the patient."
He said though many countries focus their attention on tackling infectious disease, more time needs to be given to issues relating to mental health, as well as diseases like Tuberculosis (TB).
"In this region, issues relating to mental health are still stigmatised hence the shortfall in care. Worldwide, however, especially in third world countries, 1.4 million are still dying each year as a result of TB. This is a disease which has been treatable since 1948 so there lays our issue. There is clearly a problem with delivering treatment to these patients, despite the fact it is 2015."
During the 'Delivering Health Globally: Examining the Challenges in the 21st Century' symposium, Dr Keshavjee said "building local capacity for research, strengthening health system capacity and improving patient interaction' will all contribute towards providing comprehensive care to people who need it.
He said Dubai is an important hub for this kind of knowledge sharing and care giving as it sees more than 65 million people pass through its airports each year. It lies within a catchment area that covers 46 regions, making it the perfect location for intensified research and delivery of care.
Earlier this month, Al Jalila Foundation began sponsoring a postgraduate research degree at the Harvard Medical School (HMS) as part of its efforts to encourage medical professionals to pursue training in global health delivery.
With a focus on the 'last mile' of healthcare delivery, the two-year Masters of Medical Sciences in Global Health Delivery (MMSc-GHD) is a postgraduate training course which also focuses on the optimisation of treatment outcomes.
The programme includes an HMS-based curriculum followed by a nine-month mentored research project in the UAE.
kelly@khaleejtimes.com