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Siemens to help tackle ME healthcare challenges

Dubai, February 2, 2013

Siemens said its pioneering technological innovations being showcased at Arab Health expo in Dubai can help combat some of the region's most critical diseases by raising quality and productivity in healthcare and improving access to it.

Though the healthcare sector in the Middle East is growing at a fast pace, per capita expenditure even in the most developed Middle Eastern countries still lags significantly behind other developed countries.

According to figures released by the World Health Organization, the per capita healthcare expenditure amounted to euro6,400 in the USs versus euro460 in the Middle East in 2010.

Waclaw Lukowicz, the CEO of Siemens Healthcare Middle East, said: "The main drivers behind the regional healthcare sector’s expansion are increasingly similar to other countries, but while the vast majority of the population in the Middle East is still young, it will become older, placing greater demand on the region’s healthcare systems."

"At the same time, many countries are witnessing a rapid increase in lifestyle-related diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension and coronary diseases," he stated.

"Today, most countries face one of two key challenges which can be addressed by innovative technological solutions: countries whose populations have access to comprehensive healthcare but are faced with the ever-increasing cost of that care; or countries whose populations require better and improved access to healthcare, which in turn requires increased spending," he added.

Lukowicz said it was crucial that new technologies make healthcare more accessible, affordable and efficient.

"This is particularly relevant at a time when the Middle East’s healthcare sector is undergoing a phase of rapid growth, in turn requiring large investments to meet rising demand," he noted.

"To prevent cost from spiraling and stay on top of the latest technological advances at the same time, innovations that provide increased efficiency and enable early detection while improving workflows will play an ever more important role in the future," he added.

At the core of Siemens is a deep commitment to innovation, with investments in re-search and development (R&D) in fiscal 2012 alone at euro4.2 billion, equivalent to 5.4 per cent of revenues, he added.

The company has been committed to advancing healthcare and combating lifestyle-related diseases both locally and regionally for many decades. For example, the Tawam Molecular Imaging Center in the UAE, which was awarded to Siemens, is a turnkey project focused on "patient-centric care" – clinical care provided in a com-fortable, non-clinical environment.

In Egypt, Siemens was the medical equipment contractual partner for the Children's Cancer Hospital – a Middle East center of excellence for diagnostics and treatment of cancer for children of all children at no charge, funded completely by charity insti-tutions.

Another example is the Heart Hospital in Qatar – part of Hamad Medical Corporation mandated by the Qatar Ministry of Health, under the guidance of the Supreme Council of Health, said Lukowicz.

"This dedicated cardiovascular care facility received the region's first multi-axis Angio system to aid in cardiothoracic procedures and is the only standalone facility in Qatar to integrate all cardiothoracic medical and surgical ser-vices within one building," he added.-TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Arab Health | Siemens | Healthcare |

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