Foreign Medical Treatment – Health Care Sidetracked

The recent disputes over the responsibilities of the Foreign Medical Treatment Department at the Ministry of Health are further highlighting the misguidance of our health care system. While we focus on getting our patients out of the country to more capable providers, time has deepened our homeland’s health care crisis. Indeed, misinformed decision-makers and erroneous popular belief have shifted resources away from many of the basic foundations of a sound health care system. The solution is not to “outsource” health care but to establish our very own state-of-the-art system by training and recruiting leaders, launching nationwide prevention programs, building quality hospitals, reinforcing medical education and rendering the workplace safe for both providers and patients alike. We must set aside our pride, accept the harsh reality of the declining quality of care, and reallocate resources to reverse this. We cannot bow to misinformation that attributes our low death rates to a flawless health care system in a nation with a pyramidal population structure. Our neighbors have understood this and have now outpaced us owing to their forward-thinking and risk-taking behavior.

Let us analyze the shortcomings of our decision-making.

The Health of Kuwait – A Wake up Call (Part II)

Following the 2000 WHO report and to respond to the needs of their population, our neighbors have engaged in large scale upgrades of their systems. Increasing financial prosperity allowed for the creation of new, state-of-the-art health care facilities thereby increasing the availability of care. Qualified professionals were recruited from Western nations to spearhead the advancement of several deficient specialties. Attractive, tax-free packages were offered to promote incentive. More importantly, collaborations with leading institutions were initiated to help uphold self-sustainable developments. Examples, discussed previously, include Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the world-renowned Joslin Diabetes Center of Boston in Bahrain, attracting much-needed expertise in diabetes treatment to the area, the Clemenceau Medical Center in Beirut and the Tawam Hospital in Abu Dhabi, the new affiliates of Johns Hopkins Medicine International, or the collossal King Fahd Medical City in Saudi Arabia and the Harvard-affiliated Dubai Healthcare City. Such ventures not only introduce healthy competition to the region but also provide the work environment needed to motivate health care professionals. These projects will help avert reinventing the wheel by introducing approved standards and protocols, implementing a modern clinical practice, and enhancing medical education in the region.

So why does Kuwait lag behind? The reasons are many.