“Most of the hospitals in Qatar are under one system, which is the HMC system, so we can be a really good example of the application of telemedicine through an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach. Telemedicine and eHealth are of great importance as we continue to develop tremendously from all the other elements,” internationally renowned telemedicine expert and Hamad Medical Corporation Trauma Services director Dr Rifat Latifi has said.
Dr Latifi, who was recently recognised worldwide for his work in telemedicine programme for the Balkans and other countries, has received the 21st Century Achievement Award for Health from the 23rd Annual Computerworld Honours Programme.
“One of my passions is the establishment of telemedicine in developing countries and around the world as a way of improving patients’ access to doctors, reducing the cost of medical services, and improving patient satisfaction, as well as transforming medical education,” said Dr Latifi, who is behind efforts to establish telemedicine in Qatar and also the president and founder of the International Virtual e-Hospital (IVeH) Foundation – a US-based non-profit organisation, said.
The global Computerworld Honours Programme pays tribute to individuals and organisations whose visionary applications of information technology (IT) promote positive social, economic and educational change.
The health category recognises the innovative use of IT to conduct research, develop new diagnostic or treatment methods and services and improve the safety and quality of patient care, or improve access to or the affordability of healthcare.
Dr Latifi accepted the award in Washington DC in June, successfully competing against prestigious organisations such as the Centres for Disease Control, American Society of Health System Pharmacists, Cisco, Columbia Memorial Hospital, Direct Relief International, Harvard University Centre for Aids Research, Face Forward Fund, IBM, the US Internal Revenue Service, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and Swiss Medical Group.
Telemedicine, a rapidly developing application of clinical medicine, allows physicians to provide care to patients at a distance through live consultations over video, or capture video/still images and patient data which are stored and sent to physicians for diagnosis and follow-up treatment at a later time.
It can also be used in conducting examinations or remote medical procedures.
The award-winning project called the Balkans Telemedicine Programme has become an integral part of healthcare and serves as a model for telemedicine in developing countries.
“Our edge is sustainability. We implemented our strategy called Initiate, Build, Operate and Transfer (IBOT) in several countries starting in Kosovo, which was devastated by war, and did not have an electronic library or much access to the outside world,” he said.
“Our strategy involves building the infrastructure, developing the educational programmes to ensure sustainability, and creating the human capacity to independently manage telemedicine and telehealth programmes,” Dr Latifi explained adding: “When the programme is fully operational, we turn it over to the country’s health ministry or government and it becomes part of the country’s fabric.”
The establishment of a telemedicine programme in Qatar will facilitate access to specialists for patients who live far from the main hospitals. Its application is also expected to promote more efficient delivery of continuing medical education through a telemedicine training centre, as successfully achieved in Kosovo.
Besides his work in the Balkans, Dr Latifi also brings experience from the University of Arizona, US.
“Hopefully, we will be able to introduce the same technologies here that are being done worldwide by our own local experts, and by next year create a solid overall programme for telemedicine in Qatar,” he added.
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Quelle/Source: Gulf Times, 04.08.2011
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