Patient Relations
Sight-saving surgery
How eye surgery at JHAH has helped save the sight and improve the lives of three local residents ›
April 3, DeepDive 2019, the Family Medicine conference launched with grassroots enthusiasm from physicians, nurses and residents, and with distinguished supporters from the medical establishment. The esteemed guests included the Secretary General of the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance; CEO of the E1 Health Cluster Eastern Province; President of the Saudi Society of Family and Community Medicine, and CEO of Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH).
JHAH is a leading advocate for Primary Care. The JHAH Family Medicine Residency Program, in partnership with the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties, is now in its second year,and has demonstrated that its residents are among the highest performers in the Kingdom. JHAH Family Physician and Family Medicine Residency Program Director, Dr. Hadi Al Enazy, is the Course Director and chairman of the scientific Committee for the Deep Dive 2019 conference. This is not an isolated contribution and dozens of JHAH experts are supporting the event as speakers and organizers. The value of Dr. Al Enazy’s role was reinforced during the opening ceremony when Prof. Sameeh Alamael, President of the Saudi Society of Family and Community Medicine (SSFCM), announced that Dr. Hadi Al Enazy has been appointed as the Head of the Eastern Province Office of the Society of Family Medicine.
In opening remarks to the fully attended event, Dr. Daniele Rigamonti, FACS, CEO, JHAH spoke of his own changed perspective of Primary Care. “As a Neurosurgeon, I spent my entire career practicing at Johns Hopkins Medicine, seeing the world of healthcare from a narrow perspective. Now, as the CEO of JHAH, a healthcare provider caring for people for decades and often generations, I look at healthcare delivery with fresh eyes.” Dr. Rigamonti described the increasing incidence of Non-Communicable Diseases as a tsunami on the horizon, and commended the Saudi Vision 2030 for its clear roadmap to address the threat. The use of interventions based on the epidemiology of disease and a transition from a reactive to proactive mode that is health focused and grounded in Primary Healthcare.
Dr. Shabab AlGhamdi, Secretary General of the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance (CCHI), the regulator of private health insurance organizations, described primary care as the foundation of value-based healthcare. He added that, “the Saudi Vision 2030 identifies the development of Primary Care as the cornerstone of the health transformation.”
The education and training agenda for DeepDive 2019 is accredited for a robust 28 Continuing Medical Education (CME) hours by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS). A unique feature of the event was the signing of two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) between the Saudi Society of Family and Community Medicine (SSFCM) and the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance (CCHI); and the SSFCM and the E1 Health Cluster Eastern Province.
The energy of the conference, sense of direction and confidence of those involved in Family Medicine in the Eastern Province signals an optimistic forecast.