Health Care in the Middle East & North Africa Summit Innovation powering health care delivery

13 October 2015 Madinat Jumeirah Mina A’Salam Hotel, Dubai, UAE

The MENA region has faced a surge in demand for health care services in recent years. Shifting socio-economic factors such as increased income and better access to modern amenities have led to widespread lifestyle changes, fuelling a rise in lifestyle-related illnesses such as cancer, obesity, diabetes and heart disease. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), non-communicable diseases will account for nearly 60% of the region’s disease burden in the next five years. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that one in 10 adults in the Middle East region currently suffers from diabetes. It forecasts that this figure will more than double over the next twenty years, reaching 68 million, or 25% of the estimated population by 2035. Vast disparities across MENA countries including levels of state financial assistance, differences in personal income, and varying stages of rural and urban development mean that many cannot afford or access required levels of care. Health care providers face significant challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified and experienced employees, with limited opportunities for medical skills training available. With an ever-increasing expense burden, a growing and aging population, workforce constraints and the rapid maturation of these markets, health care systems are nearing a critical stage. Despite these challenges, major strides have been made to lay the foundation for growth and development in the health care sector with a focus on R&D, education and developing a regulatory framework enabling entrepreneurship, innovation and global competitiveness. Regional governments are investing heavily in health care infrastructure and increasing capacity and there are efforts being made at all levels to improve quality, patient centricity and resource efficiency. There has never been a better time to build on this foundation and adopt a best practice approach to guide strategic policy and health care delivery. The Economist’s Health Care in the Middle East & North Africa Summit is a multi-stakeholder event that will bring together decision-makers from across the public and private sectors. The one-day event will identify and align strategic objectives and explore a tangible roadmap to guide decision-making and foster a collaborative approach to deliver a truly world-class health care system in the Middle East and North Africa.

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Health Care in the Middle East & North Africa Conference Programme 09:00 Registration 09.30 Opening remarks from the Chair Dr. Vivek Muthu, Chair, Economist Intelligence Unit Healthcare, UK 09:45 Keynote Address: Innovation, efficiency and effectiveness in delivering a high quality, sustainable health care ecosystem 10:15 Keynote Address: Developing human assets through health care reform 10:45 Panel Discussion: Health care policy and the role of industry: Aligning public and private sector objectives to drive innovation in health care delivery According to WHO statistics, the GCC has one of the highest incidences of NCDs in the world. A vast youth demographic and a rapidly aging population, paired with vast socio- economic disparity across the region resulting in varying rates of access to health care facilities and treatments, regional governments are facing significant challenges to ensure health systems are robust, sustainable and provide quality, affordable care to all. The GCC pricing harmonisation policy, enacted throughout 2014, has been a strategic attempt to regulate pricing and improve access to medicines. However, there is debate around the efficacy of this policy and argue that price restrictions are hindering innovation and ultimately, adversely affecting patient health as well as sector growth. This session will bring together key stakeholders from government and private sector to talk about the strategic policies guiding the future of health care in the region, identifying the main challenges to implementation, and what tangible KPIs need to be put in place to ensure a collaborative approach to foster innovation and deliver world-class health care throughout the Middle East.

• What is the ideal level of health care spending and investment? • How can efficiencies be applied to ensure a sustainable framework is put into place? • How are MENA countries prioritising spending decisions and showing a true

commitment to health care? • Aging populations: Are we prepared for this? • How do we define innovation?

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• How can we differentiate between value versus cost? • How are we measuring innovation and what are the enabling conditions for innovation

in health care? • How do we build and sustain a national culture of innovation in health care? • Is a regulatory framework the best determinant for the success of innovation? • How can we strengthen health care systems of countries in conflict?

Marwan Abdulaziz, Executive Director, DuBiotech, UAE

Dr. Petra Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, International Diabetes Federation, Belgium

Dr. Sameen Siddiqi, Director, Department of Health Systems Development, Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, World Health Organization, Egypt

Samir A. Khalil, Executive Director, Middle East & Africa Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) 11:45 Morning refreshments and networking 12:15 Panel Discussion: Evolving health care trends: Improving accessibility, efficiency and effectiveness This session will provide a platform for discussion around evolving health care trends across the MENA region, including feedback on initiatives empowering primary care physicians and the growing scope of primary care centers. It will examine the role of community-centred care and ‘accessible cities’ outpatient facilities for more efficient, and accessible, treatment options for chronic illnesses, rehabilitative care, geriatric as well as examine the issue of patient accountability. It will also evaluate regional initiatives to improve affordability and access to care such as compulsory insurance regulations, providing feedback on how these programmes are rolling out and lessons learned from a year in review as well as a discussion around how innovation is improving efficiency and effectiveness in health care delivery.

• What is being done to empower primary care physicians and how can we monitor and ensure quality and consistency in standards of care?

• How are community care centres improving patient-centricity? • What growth opportunities exist for health care providers in the tertiary and

quaternary care sectors? • How have compulsory insurance laws improved health care access and what can be

learned for other MENA states looking at this model? • How are system and process innovation improving efficiency and effectiveness in

health care delivery?

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• How are advancements in telemedicine, eHealth and mHealth working to engage patients in their own care and creating a culture of accountability, with the added benefit of improved system efficiency?

Dr. A. Abyad, Chief Executive Officer, Abyad Medical Center; Chairman, Middle East Academy for Medicine of Aging; Coordinator, Middle East Network on Aging; Editor, Middle East Journal of Family Medicine, Lebanon

Benjamin Frank, Chief Executive Officer, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi

David Hadley, Chief Executive Officer, Mediclinic Middle East, Dubai

Hisham Radwan, VP, Regional General Manager – MEA, Aetna International, Dubai

Salma al-Jaouni, Chief Executive Officer, Health Care Accreditation Council, Jordan 13:00 International Benchmarking: How is Singapore driving innovation and value-generation in biomedical R&D? Over the past twenty years, Singapore has made a concerted effort to establish itself as a global leader in biomedical R&D. This session will provide a model demonstrating the link between health care investment in R&D, skills training, manufacturing and innovation resulting in Singapore’s current position as a world-leading health care hub. Dr. Benjamin Seet, Executive Director, Biomedical Research Council, A*Star, Singapore 13:30 Lunch 14:30 Tackling the Talent Crisis: Education and skills training for a sustainable health care system The Middle East is facing a severe shortage of skilled medical talent. With the major push to increase capacity in recent years leading to an ever-growing number of health care facilities, and increased demand from a growing population burdened with high rates of NCDs, the pressure is on to source qualified medical professionals. In the GCC, it is estimated that over 80% of physicians and nurses are expats. Authorities are faced with the task of encouraging MENA nationals to take roles in the burgeoning health care sector, whilst also ensuring the educational framework is in place to support further skills development. This session will explore what is being done to address the talent shortage in the health care sector and what measures need to be put in place to ensure a sustainable resource infrastructure going forward.

• What are education regulators doing to address supply and demand mismatches in the health care and medical sector?

• How can policy makers and health care providers work together to develop a sustainable workforce planning strategy?

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• What initiatives need to be put into place to overcome the complexities of developing a local health care workforce?

• How can the region overcome cultural barriers, particularly for females, to encourage local participation in the health care industry?

Cameron Mirza, Head of Projects and Strategy, Secretariat-General of the Higher Education Council, Ministry of Education, Bahrain

Dr. Javaid I. Sheikh, Dean, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar; Co-Chair, Executive Committee of Qatar Academic Health System; Board of Directors, Sidra Medical and Research Center, Qatar 15:15 Panel Discussion: Technological innovation and quality of care Patient safety, resource efficiency, affordability and accessibility are all key considerations when evaluating quality of care outcomes. Advancements in medical technologies and ICT mean that health care systems and providers are better able to treat and care for patients, with the added benefit of improving efficiencies and reducing costs. This session will delve into the role of innovation in how we collect, manage and analyse patient data, as well as evaluate the latest technological innovations allowing for more affordable, higher quality care in the MENA region.

• How can big data analytics allow a better understanding of disease patterns? • How can we balance data protection with data availability to facilitate the sharing of

health records and statistics to improve patient safety? • How can informatics reduce the cost of care and help to improve efficiencies in

managing resources? • How can we display value and outcomes to patients through innovation? • What are the main barriers to technological innovation in the MENA region and how

can government and private sector collaborate to overcome these obstacles? • What are the latest technological innovations improving health care provision in the

MENA region? Dr. Bern Shen, Chief Medical Officer, HealthCrowd; Board Member, TechWadi, Abu Dhabi

Gareth Sherlock, Chief Information Officer, Cleveland Clinic, Abu Dhabi 16:00 Closing keynote: The future of health care: Focus on the patient experience Hear from this world-leader in health care on the trends and innovations that are best serving patients. Dr. David Hayes, Medical Director, Mayo Clinic, USA 16:30 Closing remarks and end of conference

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© The Economist Group 2015