Improving Emergency Medical Care for Patients in Qatar: UPMC Partners with Hamad Medical Corporation to Establish a Trauma Center of Excellence

THEORY IN ACTION

CONTENTS

1 TheHamadMedicalCorporation

2 StrivingforExcellenceamidaGrowing,DiversePatientBase

4 AFullPartnership:MovingfromPlanning,toExecution,toExcellence

8 HMCandUPMC:MeetingalltheRequirementstoAchieveLevel1TraumaCare

12 AboutUPMC

TheHamadMedicalCorporation(HMC),

Qatar’sprincipalpublichealthsystem,

partneredwithUPMCtoimprovethe

qualityofemergencymedicalcareinthe

country.WithfullsupportfromtheEmir

andMinistryofHealth,thepartnership

focusedoncreatingacomprehensiveand

integratedemergencydepartmentand

traumaservice.

Together,theteamsworkedside-by-side

todevelopandexecuteplanstoenhance

everyaspectofHMC’semergencycare,

culminatingintheestablishmentofa

THE HAMAD MEDICAL CORPORATION

Level1traumacenter.Thepartnershipalso

resultedinthecreationofanintegrated

medicalrecordsanddocumentation

system,developmentofnewoperational

andmanagerialprotocolsand

establishmentofcriticaleducation

programs.

Today,HMCprovidesemergencymedical

caretomorethan700,000patients

annually,helpingQatartosetthebarfor

emergencycarethroughouttheentire

MiddleEast.

THEORY IN ACTION 1

Qatar,asmallindependentstatelocated

inthenortheastcorneroftheArabian

Peninsulaishometomorethan1.8million

people.Smallbutquicklygrowing,its

populationhasmorethantripledinthe

pastdecade,attractingexpatriatesfroma

rangeofcountries.Thecountryhasalso

growneconomically,todayboastingoneof

thehighestpercapitaincomesintheworld.

Beforethepartnership,HMC’sprimary

hospital—HamadGeneralHospital—had

earmarked148bedsforemergencycare,

butwasprocessing900to1,200trauma

patientsaday.Whilethehospital—along

withothersinthearea—wasmodernand

functionallysound,leadershipunderstood

thattherewasworktobedonetoexpand

access,increaseefficiencyandestablish

world-classemergencycare.

NotingUPMC’sclinical,technicaland

managerialexpertise,HMCenlistedits

servicestohelpcreateandimplementa

comprehensive,integratedanddata-driven

emergencycaresystem.Withfullsupport

fromgovernmentandhospitalleaders,

thetwoorganizationsenteredintoa

partnershiptocreateatraumacenterat

HamadGeneralHospital.Theultimate

goalsweretoimproveclinicaloutcomes

andachieveaccreditationasaLevel1

traumacenter—thehighestlevel

accordingtoAmericanCollegeofSurgeons

criteria,capableofprovidingtotalcarefor

everyaspectofinjury,frompreventionto

rehabilitation.

“Wewantedtocreateoneoftheworld’s

leadingtraumacentersatHamadGeneral

Hospital,withthebestpossiblecareforour

patientsandthefinesttrainingforour

physicians,”saidDr.HananAlKuwari,

managingdirectorofHMC.“Wefeltthat

ourcollaborationwithUPMCwouldhelp

ensurethatwereachedourgoalasquickly

aspossible.”

STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE AMID A GROWING, DIVERSE PATIENT BASE

2 UPMC

“ We wanted to create one of the world’s leading trauma centers at Hamad General Hospital, providing the best possible care for our patients and the finest training for our physicians. We felt that our collaboration with UPMC would help ensure that we reached our goal as quickly as possible.”

Dr. Hanan Al Kuwari, HMC Managing Director

THEORY IN ACTION 3

A FULL PARTNERSHIP: MOVING FROM PLANNING, TO EXECUTION, TO EXCELLENCE

Asafirststep,UPMCconducteda

comprehensiveassessmentofHMC’s

emergencycareprocessesatfive

participatinghospitalsandemergency

departments:HamadGeneralHospital,

AlKhorNorthernAreaHospital,Women’s

Hospital,AlSaddPediatricEmergency

CenterandHamad’sEmergencyMedical

Services—allchosenfortheirhighvolume

oftraumapatients.TheUPMCteam

immerseditselfinthehealthsystemfor

ayear,workingside-by-sidewithHMC

toobservecareadministration,interview

careprovidersandprovideside-by-side

clinicalcare.

Theassessmentsinformedthe

developmentofasetofperformance

objectivesandacomprehensiveaction

plan.Theplanincludednearly350

recommendations,covering10emergency

medicalsystemcomponentsandproviding

specificdeliverablesandtimelines.

Withaplaninplace,UPMCestablished

anon-the-groundpresence,providing

education,trainingandotherservices

toQatar’semergencymedicalsystem.

Additionally,UPMCidentifiedand

helpedtohiretop-qualitymedicalstaff,

emergencymedicalserviceproviders,

nurses,administratorsandmanyother

keypositionsinthehealthsystem.

“Wedon’tbelieveinhandingourpartnersa

planandgettingonaplane.Weliketobe

ontheground,workingside-by-sidewith

ourpartners,”saidDr.WaltStoy,executive

directoroftheemergencymedicine

enhancementproject.“Westaytoseeour

collaborationsthrough.That’sreallyour

pointofdifferentiation.”

EstablishingHamadGeneralHospitalasa

verifiableLevel1traumacenterallowed

patientswithmulti-systeminjuriestobe

immediatelyadmittedandtreatedby

teamsofsurgeonsspecializingintrauma

medicine.UPMCandHMCalsocreatedan

advancedcommunicationsystembetween

paramedicsatthesceneofatrauma

incidentandthehospital’sdoctors,helping

toactivatemedicalteamsbeforeapatient

reachesthehospital.Furthermore,teams

establishedatraumaregistrytotrackand

improvepatientoutcomes,research

programs,qualityimprovementprocesses

andotherfactorsnecessarytoachieve

Level1status.

Finally,UPMCorchestratedacomplete

transferofknowledgethatenabledHMC

tocontinuetoruntheemergencymedical

systemefficientlyandindependently.

4 UPMC

“ We like to be on the ground, working side-by-side with our partners. We stay to see our collaborations through. That’s really our point of differentiation.”

Dr. Walt Stoy, Executive Director of the Emergency Medicine Enhancement Project

THEORY IN ACTION 5

“ By collaborating and working closely together over the long-term, we developed a world-class health center with quality patient care that serves as a shining star for health care in the Middle East.”

Dr. Alan Hodgdon, Executive Medical Director of the HMC-UPMC Emergency Enhancement Project

6 UPMC

THEORY IN ACTION 7

Among other things, the UPMC-HMC partnership resulted in:

HMC AND UPMC: MEETING ALL THE REQUIREMENTS TO ACHIEVE LEVEL 1 TRAUMA CARE

•EnhancementofeveryaspectofQatar’s

emergencycare—includingclinicalcare,

research,pharmacyservices,laboratory

testingandradiology

•Creationofanintegratedmedicalrecords

anddocumentationsystem

•Ongoingeducationandtrainingprograms

inmedicalcare,customerservice,

managementandcommunication

•Developmentofnewoperationaland

managerialprotocols

•Aperformancemanagementsystemto

ensureaccountability,responsibility

andcontinuousimprovement

8 UPMC

THEORY IN PRACTICE 9

Perhapsmostimportantly,the

collaborationresultedinreducedpatient

lengthofstays,betterbedutilization,

significantcostsavingsandthemeasurable

improvementofoverallpatientcare.Allof

theseinitiativeswerecompletedwithin

budgetparametersestablishedatthe

outsetoftheproject.

“Withourconcentratedfocusontreating

thecomplexinjuriesoftraumapatients,we

havebeenabletoimproveouremergency

carecapabilities,aswellasprovide

educationandtrainingforoursurgeons,

helpingussavemorelives,”saidDr.Kimball

I.Maull,MD,FACS,Head-Sectionof

TraumaSurgery,DepartmentofSurgery,

HamadGeneralHospital.

“Qatarwasseeingitsskylineevolvedaily,

andwewantedtohelpensurethatits

healthcaresystemevolvedalongwiththe

populationandtechnologygrowth,”said

Dr.AlanHodgdon,executivemedical

directorofHMC-UPMCemergency

enhancementproject.“Bycollaborating

andworkingcloselytogetheroverthe

long-term,wedevelopedaworld-class

healthcenterwithqualitypatientcarethat

servesasashiningstarforhealthcarein

theMiddleEast.”

10 UPMC

“ Qatar was seeing its skyline evolve daily, and we wanted to help ensure that its health care system evolved along with the population and technology growth.””

Dr. Alan Hodgdon, Executive Medical Director of the HMC-UPMC Emergency Enhancement Project

THEORY IN ACTION 11

ABOUT UPMC

UPMC’sobjectiveistoshareourclinical,technologicalandmanagerialknowledgeandexpertisewithpartnersaroundtheworld,customizingsolutionssothatpatientsandregionsbenefitandthrive.Webelieveeveryoneshouldhaveaccesstothebestpossiblecare,withouthavingtoleavetheircountryorregion.

About Us

UPMC,anacademicmedicalcenteraffiliatedwiththeUniversityofPittsburgh,isarecognizedleaderinprovidinghealthcareservicesintheUnitedStatesandinternationally.

ThroughUPMCInternationalServices,weareabletoofferafullrangeofhealthconsultingservices.BycollaboratingwithUPMC,ourmulti-disciplinaryteamcanprovidecustomizedsolutions,on-the-groundsupportanddirectaccesstodeepclinicalexpertiseandoperationalknowledge.

Ourgoalistoworkside-by-sidewithourpartnersfromstarttofinish,untilwebothagreethattheworkisdone.Wecanassessneeds,buildtherighthospitalandinfrastructure,provideeducationanddesigncustomizedclinicalprograms.Wecanalsoworkwithourpartners’doctorsandstafftoensurethatentireteamunderstandstheirrolesinbuildingandmaintaininganexcellenthealthcaresystem.

ByworkingwithUPMCtoidentifyandimplementcustomizedsolutions,ourpartners’givepatientsintheirareaaccesstothebestpossiblehealthcare,becomeamagnetforpatientsfromotherregionsandsupportgrowthoftheirlocaleconomies.

Youcanlearnmoreabouttheservicesweofferhere:www.UPMCInternational.com.

12 UPMC

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

UPMCInternationalServicesUPMCInternational@upmc.edu+1-412-647-7114www.UPMCInternational.com

©2015UPMC