Medical tourism : A new frontier

When 6-year-old Veronika* was brought to Schneider Medical Center with a grave and rare immune disease, her parents weren’t sure if their little girl would survive.

“Before she came into the hospital for the treatment, we were very nervous and daunted by the fear of the unknown,” her father said. “Upon arrival at Schneider Hospital, we saw that Veronika was surrounded by professionals who knew what they were doing, and they cared about making her better. It was evident that she was in good hands, and it took away a lot of our apprehension.” Even in the darkest moments of the girl’s recovery, the Schneider team remained calm, professional and optimistic.

“Thanks to the team of PICU, she is a happy and active girl again with a bright future. Without the help of the PICU team, her recovery would not be possible. We can never thank you enough for all you have done, you saved her life, and there is nothing more important than a child's life,” he added.

What makes Veronika’s story unique is not her exemplary medical treatment, nor her recovery, but the fact that she received this world-class level of care from a country that she doesn’t not even reside in.

A Ukrainian citizen, Veronika is just one of many foreign nationals who come to Israel for top-tier medical treatment. Now, with the signing of the Abraham Accords, those in the UAE will be able to receive similar services in their country due to a visiting doctors programme and, thanks to telemedicine, even from the comfort of their own home. This is due to the MOU inked between Clalit Health Services and the Abu Dhabi Ministry of Health and Prevention which sought to enhance their already impressive healthcare industry with Israeli innovation and medical know-how. The deal will enable Clalit to bring its mission of providing high-quality, accessible, innovative and human services to every patient anytime, anywhere in the Emirati capital. Yoram Raviv, a partner at D Major - regional management consulting firm that provides strategic insights to companies with diverse business interests - was instrumental in making the deal a reality. “This is a partnership more than five years in the making but became a reality in the wake of the Abraham Accords. Clalit approached me to try to see how we can work with the UAE and we helped devise a roadmap to make it happen,” he said.

In signing with Clalit, DOH has embarked on a partnership with one of the largest HMOs in the world consisting of 14 hospitals (which conducts some 130,00 operations a year) - including the aforementioned Schneider Children’s. Half of the Israeli population belong to Clalit with the HMO servicing 52 per cent of the population including ultra-orthodox and secular Jews and Israeli-Arabs. Additionally, the organisation employs 48,000 people, including 10,000 physicians and 10,000 nurses. Most patient’s daily interaction is with their free-standing clinics, but Clalit also offers 820 pharmacies, 40 child health centers, 100 physiotherapy institutes,100 dental clinics, 60 mental health clinics and 50 women’s health centers.

As such, Dr Orly Weinstein, Deputy Director of Clalit Health Services and Head of the hospitals division-Clalit is embracing the many opportunities associated with a deal of this magnitude. “Whenever we talk about collaboration between countries, there is potential for development across various sectors. We’re looking at collaborating on special projects, exchanging information which can yield not only economic profit, but can bring about numerous medical benefits,” she said. So, what exactly does Abu Dhabi gain from this deal? Dr Weinstein sat down with the Khaleej Times to break down why this partnership is beneficial not only to the Emirati medical industry, but also to individual citizens. First, let’s look at the impact this partnership can have on a large-scale.

A treasure trove of big data

For the past 30 years, Clalit has diligently digitised the data of all its patients and is sitting on a robust and diverse array of medical backgrounds of millions of people from their birth to death. This gives the HMO the benefit of a generous sample size to look at trends and even predict medical outcomes.

“The greater the data set, the more detailed research we can perform,” Dr Weinstein noted. Thus, with this collaboration, Abu Dhabi can gain much from this knowledge. She did specify, though, that the data is completely anonymous and respecting their clients’ privacy is the ultimate priority.

Aside from furthering medical research, data sharing has a very real impact on the ground in the hospital. Say, for instance, a premature baby is ushered into the NICU. Every moment for this fragile and vulnerable baby counts. By testing a baby’s birth weight, urine samples, heartbeat and temperature, the data provides an accurate window of survival and gives doctors a warning as to when and how they should intervene. With Clalit’s research, doctors can see what is recommended in terms of treatment by entering the baby’s specific characteristics regarding its medical condition The data, then, can indicate what process to follow based on other success stories so the medical team can get to work and proceed with a treatment plan without losing precious time.

Visiting doctor’s programme

In addition to state-of-the art data, though, one needs experienced and well-regarded physicians to execute the treatment plan in question. While the UAE certainly has brilliant medical professionals, this MOU with Israel will supplement that knowledge with Israel’s own team of medical experts.

— Noa Amouyal is a freelance journalist and media strategist based in Tel Aviv. She has written for publications like The Jerusalem Post, The Jewish Chronicle and Times of Israel.