Interviews

Interviews

March 2011 Issue
	Screen, Plan, Act - Abu Dhabi’s initiative to reduce CVD (Mar 2011) Callan Emery speaks to Dr Cother Hajat, section head, Public Health Programmes, Health Authority-Abu Dhabi, about the Weqaya programme, its findings and their implications.

	HIV/AIDS - AIDS vaccine research – where is it headed? (Mar 2011) IRIN/PlusNews speaks to Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, about the future of HIV vaccine research and development.

January 2011 Issue
	Screen, Plan, Act - Abu Dhabi’s initiative to reduce CVD (Jan 2011) Callan Emery speaks to Dr Cother Hajat, section head, Public Health Programmes, Health Authority-Abu Dhabi, about the Weqaya programme, its findings and their implications.

	HIV/AIDS - AIDS vaccine research – where is it headed? (Jan 2011)IRIN/PlusNews speaks to Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, about the future of HIV vaccine research and development.

November 2011 Issue
	Answering the call to heal the sick (Nov 2010) Callan Emery speaks to Dr Abrar Khan, senior consultant and director, Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, about his life, inspiration and the organ transplant programme he was invited to establish in the United Arab Emirates.

September 2011 Issue
	Gottfried Hirnschall, WHO’s new director of HIV (Sep 2010) The UN (WHO) recently appointed Dr Gottfried Hirnschall, director of its HIV department. IRIN/PlusNews talked to him about the state of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care, and how countries need to respond to waning donor funding for HIV programmes.


	PEPFAR flat-lines funding – an interview with Eric Goosby (Sep 2010) The US president’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has committed about US$32 billion to the global fight against HIV since its launch in 2003, making it the largest donor for HIV/AIDS globally.

January 2010 Issue
	Interview - The diabetes time-bomb in Saudi Arabia (Jan 2010) Diabetes is epidemic in several Gulf countries including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), where its prevalence continues to increase dramatically. Callan Emery spoke to Dr Khaled Al Tayeb, anendocrinologist for Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health.

	Dubai Mall Medical Centre – a patient-centred approach (Jan 2010) Callan Emery spoke to Omar Shunnar, the CEO of Emaar Healthcare, about the new medical centre and their partnership with Methodist.

September 2009 Issue
	Healthcare Communications - Targeting the Middle East (Sep 2009) Global healthcare agency McCann Healthcare Worldwide is setting up shop in Dubai. Callan Emery spoke to Richard Nordstrom, the Chairman and CEO, to find out more about the company and what’s attracting them to the Middle East.

May 2009 Issue
	The way forward (May 2009) In an exclusive interview with Callan Emery, Professor Osman Ratib, the president of the EuroPACS scientific society and one of the key initiators of the innovative and globally successful OsiriX open source PACS project, discusses PACS technology, the future of PACS and the OsiriX initiative.

March 2009 Issue
	Raising the standard of maternity care (March 2009) Abu Dhabi healthcare investment and development company United Eastern Medical will build one of the region’s leading women’s and children’s hospitals. Callan Emery spoke the company’s CEO Mohammed Al Shorafa, MD.

	Education - Irish surgeons set up university in Bahrain (March 2009) The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland – Medical University of Bahrain (RSCI–MUB) officially opened its new campus in Manama in January. Middle East Health spoke to Professor Kevin O’Malley, President of RCSI-MUB.

January 2009 Issue
	Perspective - Interview - Making a headway in the Middle East (January 2009) TRUMPF Medical Systems is making inroads in the Middle East with sales for its solutions for OR and ICU booming in the past few months. Callan Emery speaks to Lars Michel, the company’s regional director.

	Perspective - A clear image of the future (January 2009) Siemens Healthcare is one of a handful of key players in global healthcare, setting trends and defining directions in medical equipment and devices. The company also has a major interest in the Middle East healthcare market.

September 2008 Issue
	Royal Med plays vital role in patient aero transport Since its establishment five years ago, Abu Dhabi-based Royal Med has played an important role in patient transfers from the region to specialist hospitals around the world. Middle East Health speaks to Dr Frank Porter, the recently appointed Medical Director of Royal Med.

	Unique devices developed to stimulate lymph system An Australian company has developed a range of transdermal stimulation devices using unique technology. Trials have shown they have a remarkable therapeutic effect on many conditions linked to the health of the soft tissue layer and the efficiency of the lymphatic system.

May 2008 Issue
	Resuscitating Iraq’s healthcare (May 2008) Iraq’s healthcare system faces severe shortages in many critical areas – doctors, equipment, and medication. Callan Emery speaks to Dr Adel Abdullah, the inspector-general for the Iraqi Ministry of Health, about the current state of affairs.

	In conversation with the head of Philips Healthcare (May 2008) Steve Rusckowski, CEO of Philips Healthcare, and Walter van Kuijen, CEO, Philips Healthcare for Europe, ME&A, visited Dubai earlier this year. In an exclusive interview, Callan Emery, editor of ME Health, asked them about business in the region & the company’s future plans.

	Radiology - Scanning the road ahead (Mar 2008) Dr James Thrall, considered by many to be the world’s pre-eminent authority on radiology in medicine, presented the keynote lecture at the diagnostic imaging symposium at Arab Health 2008.

January 2008 Issue
	Hospitals for the poor (Jan 2008) In an exclusive interview with Middle East Health, Sobhi Batterjee, the president of the Saudi German Hospitals Group, tells Callan Emery about an innovative business plan he has initiated to provide healthcare services to the poor.

November 2007 Issue
	Preventive medicine - Collaboration is key (Nov 2007) There is a new view of preventive medicine emerging. Callan Emery speaks to Dr Claus Biermann of Philips Medical Systems’ eHealth.

September 2007 Issue
	Health insurance - Building the IT backbone (Sep 2007) Health insurance is playing an increasingly important role in the provision of healthcare across the Middle East with a number of countries in the region making health insurance mandatory. To facilitate this initiative Saudi-based Waseel is pioneering the digital connection of insurance companies with healthcare service providers. Middle East Health speaks to Riyadh Bajodah, COO, Waseel.

	Orthopaedics - The challenges faced by spinal surgeons (Sep 2007) Dr Desmond Kwok MD, a senior orthopaedic surgeon at Dubai Bone and Joint Center, speaks to Middle East Health about the challenges he faces as a spinal surgeon, and as an orthopaedic surgery teacher affiliated with the Cleveland Clinic Group offers several important suggestions for orthopaedic surgeons to improve their practice.

	Orthopaedics - Knee surgery for the Arab elite (Sep 2007) Middle East Health speaks to Dr Jurgen Toft, one of the world’s foremost knee surgeons and founder of the Alpha Klinik in Munich, Germany.