Dubai Archives - MyMedicPlus

First-of-its-kind diabetes centre opens in Dubai

mymedicplus — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 06:25:11 +0000

Source – http://www.tradearabia.com/

GluCare Integrated Diabetes Centre, the world’s first healthcare provider to empower patients through Remote Continuous Data Monitoring as part of its standard care model has opened in Dubai.

Located on Al Wasl Road in Al Bada’a, GluCare, the region’s first healthcare provider to use Digital Therapeutics, offers those with diabetes a new, innovative, and empowering model of care. GluCare gives diabetics the tools, knowledge, and continuous support to live longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives.

Conceptualised and developed in the UAE with partners in Silicon Valley, GluCare employs Remote Continuous Data Monitoring, an innovative and highly personalized ‘continuous healthcare’ model that provides clinicians with a comprehensive and real-time view of patients and their condition.

Digital Therapeutics (DTx) is also utilised in a regional first. A new subset of digital health, DTx uses software, often in the form of a mobile app to deliver clinical-grade therapeutic interventions to patients. DTx products may be used independently or as is the case with GluCare, in tandem with in-person or remote clinician-delivered therapy, to optimize patient outcomes. GluCare will also be the region’s first diabetes clinic to measure and report both remote compliance and clinical outcomes.

In the UAE, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes affects about 20 per cent of the total population, with an equal number of pre-diabetics. Compliance to diabetic care plans has always been a fundamental issue locally and internationally. In a 2014 study of diabetics in the Northern Emirates, 40% reported non-compliance to their care plans due to a number of reasons.

The opening of GluCare however comes as the global pandemic has underscored the urgent need for fundamental changes in the traditional model of diabetes care. Diabetics represented nearly 40% of Covid-19 fatalities in the UAE with an untold number of others facing interruption and access to care and related services.

For GluCare Co-Founder and Managing Director, Emirati entrepreneur Dr Ihsan Almarzooqi, GluCare’s model is transformative, and comes at a time when its needed most: “Diabetes is a 24/7 condition that traditionally relied on guesswork and a one-size-fits-all approach that we know doesn’t work for most patients – a fact that has been tragically highlighted during the pandemic. At GluCare, we’re empowering both patients and clinicians through using technology as a humanising force. Our ‘continuous healthcare’ model means better outcomes and better health for patients through more personalised care, increased compliance to care plans, and perhaps, a better way of doing things for all.”

REINVENTING DIABETES CARE

For patients, GluCare’s Remote Continuous Data Monitoring ‘continuous healthcare’ model and DTx are delivered in part through wearable and connected technology, and a proprietary platform that together measures and assesses over ten health parameters, believed to be more than any other healthcare provider in the world.

While care plans are highly personalised for each individual, all new diabetes patients at GluCare receive a starter kit during their first in-clinic visit. This includes a wearable “band” that measures heart rate and heart rate variability, respiration rate, physical activity, skin temperature, and sleep patterns; a wearable Continuous Glucose Monitor or Blood Glucose Device; and may include a smart Blood Pressure Monitor; and smart Weight Scale. This kit of connected devices collects and collates real-time data in a proprietary phone app that, combined with self-reported factors such as photos of meals and well-being questionnaires, are sent back in real-time to an AI and machine learning platform.

Through artificial intelligence and machine learning, real-time insights and risk factors are identified for each patient which, together with individual patient data across all measured parameters, are shared with GluCare’s expert care team of doctors, health coaches and nutritionists.

Access to this information in real-time allows the team to make timely decisions regarding the patient’s care – especially between routine visits. The identification of risk factors also allows GluCare’s care team to make necessary remote or in-clinic interventions to improve care and compliance, or to prevent, or improve outcomes for diabetes-related comorbidities including hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and sleep apnea.

Tailored and personal educational material, as well as two-way communication through the app between patients and health coaches and doctors, also adds a further element of support – boosting care plan compliance and reducing risk factors for patients.

“While technology underscores everything we’re doing at GluCare, the real innovation comes with taking that technology, data and AI, and using it to directly impact clinical outcomes in a way that is reflective of the challenges our patients face day in, day out. This empowers both our expert team of medical professionals– giving them access to real-time data – as well as our patients, who will find it easier to successfully manage their condition,” added Ali Hashemi, Co-Founder and Chairman.

Along with innovative technology, an in-house lab and pharmacy and unique in-clinic workflows mean a vastly different experience for GluCare patients, with minimal wait-times and no need for unnecessary visits.

Each visit to GluCare takes approximately 1-hour including consultation, diagnosis, investigation, treatment, and prescription. Outpatient specialties within the center include endocrinology, ophthalmology, cardiology, and podiatry. Patients will also able to check-in to their appointment in advance via the phone app, and even book complimentary non-emergency transport to and from the clinic which, along with added convenience, also helps stem the issue of appointment ‘no-shows’.

LIMITLESS POTENTIAL

Under traditional models of care, diabetes, and related conditions take a huge emotional and economic toll on patients and their families, and on average account for 15% of all government health care expenditures in the Mena region.

While Remote Continuous Data Monitoring is a totally new concept, and DTx is relatively new within the medical sector, data from studies on their limited application in the United States – measuring blood glucose only – suggest great potential for improved diabetes patient outcomes, including a 21% reduction in death and a 43% reduction in peripheral vascular disease.

In the same study, intermittent tracking of only blood glucose with a DTx platform resulted in a total cost reduction on average of 22%, driven primarily by reduction in unnecessary patient visits (24.6%) and diabetes related medical costs (10.7%).

With GluCare’s Remote Continuous Data Monitoring and DTx platform measuring blood glucose along with over ten other parameters on an ongoing basis, the potential appears limitless.

“Diabetes not only affects those with the condition, it also affects their families and wider society. It is an emotional & financial burden for individuals and their families, and given its prevalence here in the UAE, its equally a burden for the country at large,” added Dr Almarzooqi.

“Since opening in early September, we have seen first-hand rapid improvements in patients, and the promising potential for their long-term outcomes. Through our data-driven and transparent approach, we can deliver continuous, cost-effective and improved quality of care and, in the process, help reduce both the devastating health and emotional costs for patients and their families, as well as wider socio-economic costs for society at large.”

At present, GluCare has partnered with several insurance providers including AXA, as well as Third Party Administrator, Neuron/NAS which includes Cigna Insurance.

Jerome Droesch, CEO MEA and SEA for Cigna commented: “We have witnessed an explosion of digital health over the last decade fueled by the emergence of social media platforms, wearables and cloud-based data platforms. This means, patients will expect the medical community to adopt and apply evidence-based behavioural treatments and therapeutic interventions online that are driven by software to manage or prevent a disease either independently or in coordination with medication to optimise health outcomes. This presents us with a unique opportunity to integrate advanced technology with clinical support to empower patients, their healthcare providers and payers.”– Tradearabia News Service

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Dubai explores real-time monitoring, virtual check-ups for diabetics

mymedicplus — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 06:29:10 +0000

Source – https://www.khaleejtimes.com/

Forty patients were give home-monitoring devices that regularly send data to the Dubai Diabetes Centre.

Diabetics need regular medical check-ups to prevent complications. But what if a patient could get all the monitoring done at home and doctors could receive updates in real-time? Experts in Dubai have started a study that could determine how virtual check-ups and telemonitoring could benefit people with diabetes.

The Dubai Diabetes Centre (DDC) on Tuesday announced that they are currently testing a telemonitoring system, with 40 patients selected for the research. Home monitoring devices, a smart pill box, mobile technologies and a software were all provided to track daily patient data, allowing specialists to plan interventional strategies.

“Diabetes requires one to have regular follow-ups to avoid complications. In general, over time, patient compliance reduces and they tend to miss follow-up appointments,” explained Dr M. Hamed Farooqi, director of the DDC.

“Even a gap of three to six months with no follow-ups can be severely detrimental to diabetic patients, especially those with other comorbidities. Therefore, the aim of this study is to provide diabetics with home monitoring devices and regularly receive data from them so that we can keep a close eye on their condition.”

The study shall be carried out until the end of December and it is expected to be completed by early next year, he added. Once done, the centre will evaluate how effective telemonitoring is and whether it should incorporated within the system.

How the study works

Each patient taking part in the DDC study was given four home-monitoring devices: A blood pressure monitor, a blood glucose monitor, heart rate monitor and pulse oximeter. There were also provided with a pill box, which beeps every day at the time their medicine needs to be taken.

If they don’t take the medicine on time or miss the medicine, the data is immediately sent to the centre.

Patients were also given a mobile phone. They need to place this phone close to their monitoring devices whenever they use them.

“The mobile has the software which captures all the patient data and automatically sends it to our centre. In the data room, the data gets automatically triaged as green, yellow and red based on artificial intelligence,” Dr Farooqi explained.

“Green means the results are fine, yellow means the readings are slightly abnormal, and red means the patient needs intervention. If the data falls under the yellow category, the patient is automatically sent a push notification, which informs him that the results are slightly abnormal, and therefore the patient needs to take the necessary measures as already advised by healthcare providers.

“If the data falls under the red category, the patient gets a call from DDC and the healthcare provider can provide a phone consultation or request them to visit the centre for further consultation.”

At the end of every week, a doctor receives a comprehensive patient report, said Dr. Farooqi. “This kind of real-time monitoring helps the patient stay on track and ensures there is no time-gap in terms of physical consultation, which means complications can be greatly reduced.”

Currently, a video call feature is also being tested for the study.

Healthcare innovation

The study was announced during the visit of Humaid Al Qutami, director-general of the Dubai Health Authority, to the centre.

Al Qutami said: “The DHA strongly focuses on technology to improve patient care and drive down costs of healthcare. In the current healthcare climate, globally, there has been a surge in the importance of telehealth.

“At the DHA, we aim to continue employing various technologies that fit the nuances of the healthcare landscape in the emirate…We are keen to continue medical research, especially in the field of healthcare and technology, to help empower patients and improve patient care and compliance.”

Currently, diabetics have home-monitoring devices which they use to check their blood sugar and blood pressure. They store the data in the devices and whenever they go for their follow-up appointment – which is typically every two to three months – the endocrinologist reviews the data in one go. During this period, if the numbers are higher than usual, the patient has to contact the DDC and schedule a phone consultation or an appointment.

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No surgery is a small surgery, says renowned cosmetic surgeon

mymedicplus — Sat, 18 Jan 2020 06:20:47 +0000

Source: gulftoday.ae

With the cosmetic surgery gaining currency across the world, there is no dearth of fallacy. Many are aware of the fact that it is quite safe when any seasoned doctor conducts it.

Here everything depended on the safe process. The latest the technology, the safest the surgery.

In an exclusive interview to Gulf Today renowned cosmetic surgeon Dr Samir F. Shureih, hammered in this very fact.

Dr Shureih, who has been practicing cosmetic surgery for the last 38 years, insisted that that ‘no surgery is a small surgery.’

During the interview at the the Raffles Hotel in Dubai he said “every surgery is important he says and no matter how big or small it may seem it needs to be done under utmost care and supervision.”

He stressed on the importance of choosing a board certified doctor to go ahead with any procedure whether big or small.

Dr Shureih went on to clear a few myths about cosmetic surgery that are very common among people.

Some of them includes how liposuction is chosen to be done only for someone who is obese and huge. Whereas it is ideal to do liposuction only for someone in their ideal body weight.

He also mentioned how any surgery done on someone’s body gives a trauma to the body so we need to give it ample time to recover.

“The original results of the cosmetic surgery can be assessed only after 6 months to a year and not before that as the body takes time to recover,” he said.

Dr Shureih spoke to Gulf Today on the sidelines of Emirates Plastic Congress 2020 being held at the Raffles Hotel from Jan.16-18.

The American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF) hosted a Surveyor Training course in conjunction with the Emirates Plastic Surgery Congress 2020.

Dr Shureih is very well known and is respected by his peers and patients.

He makes sure he has regular follow up sessions with all his patients to make sure they are doing fine.

He says he will continue to do so for as long as he lives.

With his tireless commitment for medicine and his primary objective being the safety and comfort of his patients, Dr Shureih is undoubtedly one of the finest cosmetic surgeons in the recent times.

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