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Empowering healthcare transformation with AI and strategic innovation

Empowering healthcare transformation with AI and strategic innovation

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The healthcare landscape in the Middle East is transforming, driven by ambitious government initiatives such as futuristic visions for personalized healthcare, the urge for high standards of care delivery and significant investments in digital innovation.

At the heart of this transformation is the application of artificial intelligence, revolutionizing healthcare delivery and patient outcomes, privatization, and administrative efficiency.

Recent shifts in public policy across the Middle East have significantly fueled the rapid growth of the health tech sector, underlining a deep-rooted commitment to personalizing and preventive care.

Visionary undertakings, such as Ƶ’s NEOM and the Dubai Health Authority’s Genome Program, have marked the region’s ambitious move toward embracing AI in healthcare.

Supported by predictive analytics and big data, these initiatives are steering healthcare towards models that are increasingly predictive, preventive and personalized, ushering in a new era of patient-centric care.

Complementing these efforts, strategic policy frameworks such as the UAE’s National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 and Ƶ’s Vision 2030 are pivotal in propelling the region towards becoming a leader in AI integration.

These strategies aim to bolster the use of AI in enhancing predictive healthcare and personalized medicine, showcasing government support for innovation. It also sets a clear direction for the integration of advanced technologies in healthcare infrastructure, development and implementation.

Together, these policy shifts and visionary projects are essential enablers, setting the stage for a transformative leap in healthcare delivery across the region.

The integration of AI technologies, including predictive healthcare analytics and personalized medicine, is revolutionizing patient care standards across the Middle East.

For example, AppliedAI’s innovations (a company with its regional HQ in Abu Dhabi), such as DeepDoc and Nash, are at the forefront of enhancing administrative efficiency while significantly refining patient diagnostics and treatment processes.

DeepDoc, an Intelligent Document Processor, organizes and summarizes medical documents, enhancing the focus on patient care and professional development. Nash optimises medical coding and revenue, adapting claims to reduce document deficiencies and engage physicians for necessary information.

These AI-powered tools not only address major operational challenges but also improve billing processes, minimize revenue loss, and enhance the overall efficiency of healthcare administration.

The integration of AI technologies, including predictive healthcare analytics and personalized medicine, is revolutionizing patient care standards across the Middle East.

Amir Joshan

By harnessing the power of AI for in-depth data analysis, healthcare professionals can devise customized treatment plans, mitigate the risk of adverse reactions, and markedly improve chronic condition prognoses.

This shift toward AI-driven healthcare is further exemplified by initiatives like the Qatar Genome Program, which highlights the crucial role of genomics and AI in sculpting the future of precision medicine.

Such initiatives underscore the potential to dramatically lower healthcare costs through timely interventions and focused treatment strategies. This is particularly critical in areas where specialized services are scarce. The evolution signifies a leap in healthcare delivery, improving patient outcomes and service quality.

AI and innovation have improved patient outcomes in the Middle East. Predictive analytics help identify high-risk patients, reducing hospital readmission rates. AI has also improved diagnostic accuracy and facilitated more effective treatment plans. AI-powered apps and telehealth services have enhanced patient engagement and chronic disease management.

These technological and strategic advancements collectively usher in new patient care standards, showcasing the profound impact of healthcare’s digital transformation.

Lexica’s strategic healthcare planning and advisory services are essential for realizing ambitious healthcare transformation projects complementing technological advancements.

Its collaboration with Hamad Medical Corp. on the Hamad Bin Khalifa Medical City project in Qatar highlights how strategic planning coupled with digital innovation can create a sustainable and efficient healthcare system geared for the future.

Lexica’s efforts in developing the Design Standards Framework for HMC underline the importance of evidence-based design and operational efficiency in healthcare infrastructure, ensuring that new developments align with the highest patient care standards and sustainability.

The synergy between AI-driven technological solutions and strategic healthcare planning is crucial to navigating the digital healthcare revolution in the Middle East. This collaborative approach enhances operational efficiency and significantly boosts patient outcomes, providing a roadmap for other regions aiming to leverage technology in healthcare.

As the Middle East continues to push the boundaries of healthcare innovation, the focused integration of AI and strategic planning is setting new benchmarks for patient care and system efficiency in emerging markets.

The ongoing digital transformation in Middle Eastern healthcare, backed by supportive public policies and strategic initiatives, is a testament to the region’s commitment to pioneering a future where healthcare is more accessible, personalized and efficient.

By embracing AI and strategic innovation, the Middle East is not just improving healthcare outcomes for its population but also showcasing a model for the world on harnessing technology to meet the challenges of modern healthcare.

• Amir Joshan, region director for Middle East business development, Lexica.

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point of view

US urges vigilance on Chinese investment as Xi opens Peru port

US urges vigilance on Chinese investment as Xi opens Peru port
Updated 12 sec ago

US urges vigilance on Chinese investment as Xi opens Peru port

US urges vigilance on Chinese investment as Xi opens Peru port
  • The $3.5-billion complexis a symbol of the Asian superpower’s growing influence on the continent as it prepares to face off with a new Donald Trump administration
  • China's President Xi vowed in his speech to “promote connectivity” between China and South America.

LIMA: As China and Peru launched South America’s first Beijing-funded port in Chancay, Peru, on Thursday, the United States called on Latin American nations to be vigilant.

The $3.5-billion complex, located 80 kilometers north of Lima, is meant to serve as a major hub for Chinese trade at a time the Asian giant is under threat of major tariff hikes after Trump reenters the White House for a second term.

The port was officially opened in a ceremony attended virtually by China's President Xi Jinping and Peruvian counterpart Dina Boluarte from Lima, where they will attend an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Friday and Saturday.

Xi vowed in his speech to “promote connectivity” between China and South America.

Peru — one of Latin America’s fastest-growing economies over the past decade — is China’s fourth-largest Latin American trading partner, with bilateral flows of nearly $36 billion in 2023.

Amid the celebration, Brian Nichols, the top US diplomat for Latin America, spoke out. “We believe it is essential that countries across the hemisphere ensure that PRC economic activities respect local laws as well as safeguard human rights and environmental protections,” he said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

Pointing to the long US relationship with Peru, Nichols said: “We’ll be focused on building those relations and making sure that Peruvians understand the complexities of dealing with some of their other investors going forward.”

He said that the United States has also recently provided support to Peru, including train donations to the city of Lima, space cooperation led by NASA and the donation of nine Black Hawk helicopters to help police battle transnational crime.

Dan Kritenbrink, the top US diplomat for East Asia, said that the United States came with an “affirmative agenda” and was not seeking to force countries to choose between rival powers.

“We do want to make sure that countries have choices and they were able to make them freely without coercion,” Kritenbrink told reporters.

The United States for two centuries has considered Latin America its sphere of interest, but it has faced increasing competition around the world, especially in the economic sphere, from China.

US policymakers often highlight debt associated by Chinese projects and China’s use of its own workers in mega-projects.

The port will allow South American nations to skirt ports in Mexico and the United States as they trade with Asia.

Xi is set to meet on Saturday in Lima with outgoing US President Biden in their likely final encounter before Donald Trump returns to the White House.


Fortune Global Forum to be held in Riyadh in 2025

Fortune Global Forum to be held in Riyadh in 2025
Updated 34 min 27 sec ago

Fortune Global Forum to be held in Riyadh in 2025

Fortune Global Forum to be held in Riyadh in 2025

RIYADH: The Saudi capital will welcome world business elites next year as the Fortune Global Forum makes its first appearance in Riyadh.

The forum, which is organized by Fortune magazine, brings together top business leaders from across the globe on the dynamic frontiers of global enterprise.

Fahd bin Abdulmohsan Al-Rasheed, the chairman of the Saudi Convention and Exhibitions General Authority, said the forum has in the past 30 years brought together “the titans of industry around the world to the forefront of economic development.”

“And that forefront today is the Kingdom of Ƶ,” Al-Rasheed told the forum in New York, where delegates have been taking part in the three-day gathering, which concluded on Tuesday.

He urged delegates to come to the Kingdom’s business epicenter to engage and explore what Ƶ has to offer.


Israeli anthem booed, scuffles seen at France game

Israeli anthem booed, scuffles seen at France game
Updated 36 min 27 sec ago

Israeli anthem booed, scuffles seen at France game

Israeli anthem booed, scuffles seen at France game
  • Some 100 Israeli fans come to game despite warning
  • * Police seek to avoid violence seen in Amsterdam

PARIS: Some French fans booed the Israeli national anthem and there were minor scuffles inside a sparsely-attended Stade de France on Thursday for a Nations League game overshadowed by frictions around the Gaza war.
Seeking to prevent a repeat of violence in Amsterdam last week around a Europa League game involving Maccabi Tel Aviv, 4,000 French security personnel were deployed in and around the stadium and on public transport.
Some 100 Israel fans defied a warning from their government against traveling for sports events, sitting in a corner of the 80,000-capacity stadium which was barely a fifth full.
With many staying away due to security fears, the 16,611 attendance was the lowest for Les Bleus at the Stade de France since it opened in 1998. The match ended 0-0.
Some boos and whistles were heard during the playing of the Israeli national anthem, which was then turned up on loudspeakers. Israeli fans waved yellow balloons and chanted “Free the Hostages” in reference to compatriots held by Hamas militants.
As the match got underway, there was a melee near the Israel fans’ section for several minutes, with people seen running and punches thrown. Stewards quickly formed a barrier.
It was unclear what had triggered the trouble.
Leading up to the game, several hundred anti-Israeli demonstrators had gathered at a square in Paris’ Saint-Denis district, perimeter, waving Palestinian flags, as well as a few Lebanese and Algerian ones, to protest against the match.
“We don’t play with genocide,” one banner read, in reference to the Gaza war.
At the end of the match, two Palestinian flags were displayed at the south end of the stadium.
Israel denies allegations of genocide in its more than year-long offensive against Hamas.

Macron attends
Going into the ground, some Israel fans wore both Israeli and French colors. Two wore a t-shirt with Israeli club side Maccabi Tel Aviv’s logo on the front and the words “Ni Oubli Ni Pardon” (Never Forgive Never Forget) on the back.
One person held a paper with “f*** Hamas” written on it.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said this week there was never any doubt the match would go ahead, following the unrest in Amsterdam which saw both Maccabi fans and local groups engage in violence, according to Dutch police.
He said there were no specific threats identified ahead of the game, but that zero risk did not exist.
French President Emmanuel Macron was at the game in a show of solidarity. “We will not give into anti-Semitism anywhere and violence, including in France, will never prevail, nor will intimidation,” he told BFM TV hours before kickoff.
The match came a day after the ninth anniversary of coordinated Islamist attacks on entertainment venues across the French capital, including the national stadium.
Racism and intolerance are rising in France, fueled in part by the war in Gaza after the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023. Similar trends have been witnessed elsewhere in Europe.
Nearly 70 suspects have been arrested and at least five people were injured in last week’s clashes between Maccabi fans and gangs in Amsterdam.


Sri Lankan president’s coalition heads for landslide: early results

Sri Lankan president’s coalition heads for landslide: early results
Updated 50 min ago

Sri Lankan president’s coalition heads for landslide: early results

Sri Lankan president’s coalition heads for landslide: early results

COLOMBO: New Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s party was headed for a landslide win at snap legislative elections, initial results showed Friday.
With over half of the ballots in Thursday’s parliamentary elections counted, Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP) coalition party had taken an unassailable lead with 63 percent of the vote, Election Commission results showed.


UK unveils finance reforms, ups risk-taking to drive growth

UK unveils finance reforms, ups risk-taking to drive growth
Updated 15 November 2024

UK unveils finance reforms, ups risk-taking to drive growth

UK unveils finance reforms, ups risk-taking to drive growth
  • Finance minister announced plans to “modernize” the Financial Ombudsman Service, which deals with complaints between consumers and firms
  • Called for “free and open trade” with partners such as the United States under its incoming president Donald Trump

LONDON: Britain’s Labour government on Thursday announced reforms to its financial sector in a bid to grow the economy, including a plan to allow greater risk-taking.
Finance Minister Rachel Reeves outlined the plans in her first Mansion House speech — an annual address by the chancellor of the exchequer to business leaders.
Late Wednesday she announced plans to create mega pension funds, potentially boosting investment in the country by around £80 billion ($104 billion) in a move that mirrored schemes in Australia and Canada.
Reeves used her Mansion House address to say that measures brought in since the 2008 global financial crisis to “eliminate risk” have had “unintended consequences” in holding back growth.
“While it was right that successive governments made regulatory changes after the global financial crisis to ensure that regulation kept pace with the global economy of the time, it is important that we learn the lessons of the past,” she said.
“These changes have resulted in a system which sought to eliminate risk-taking. That has gone too far and, in places, it has had unintended consequences which we must now address.”
Reeves announced plans to “modernize” the Financial Ombudsman Service, which deals with complaints between consumers and firms.
A pilot scheme will meanwhile be launched to deliver digital bonds, embracing technology used by the cryptocurrency sector.
She called for “free and open trade” with partners such as the United States under its incoming president Donald Trump.
“There is so much potential for us to deepen our economic relationship on areas such as emerging technologies,” she said.
“I look forward to working closely with president-elect Trump and his team to strengthen our relationship in the years ahead.”
She added that Britain must “reset our relationship” with the European Union after Brexit.

The “megafunds” pensions plan could unlock vast sums “for infrastructure projects and businesses of the future,” the Treasury said.
Labour aims to pool assets of 86 local government pension schemes in England and Wales.
The Treasury added that together the schemes were on course to manage £500 billion in assets by 2030.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s new government also plans to consolidate workers’ defined contribution schemes, a common form of pension.
“These megafunds mirror set-ups in Australia and Canada, where pension funds take advantage of size to invest in assets that have higher growth potential,” the Treasury said.
Reeves hiked business taxes and government borrowing in her maiden budget at the end of October.
“Last month’s budget fixed the foundations to restore economic stability and put our public services on a firmer footing,” Reeves said in comments alongside the pensions announcement.
“Now, we’re going for growth. That starts with the biggest set of reforms to the pensions market in decades to unlock tens of billions of pounds of investment in business and infrastructure.”
She added that the reforms would also “boost people’s savings in retirement and drive economic growth.”
Some analysts urged caution over the pensions shakeup.
“The government’s hope will be... economies of scale,” noted Tom Selby, director of public policy at investment platform AJ Bell.
He added that “conflating a government goal of driving investment in the UK and people’s retirement outcomes brings a danger.”
“If it goes well, everyone can celebrate. But it’s clearly possible that it will go the other way, so there needs to be some caution in this push to use other people’s money to drive economic growth.”