RIYADH, 30 November 2004 — Some of the Kingdom’s leading hospitals and medical groups are firm favorites for recognition at a forthcoming award ceremony. The awards will recognize the special contributions of individuals, groups and organizations to the advancement of health care in the Middle East.
The ceremony is to be held during Arab Health 2005 — the region’s leading health care exhibition and congress — and commentators anticipate strong competition for many of the awards. The key categories of best hospital accreditation initiative and best patient satisfaction program are expected to be keenly contested. Given the ongoing expansion of the health care sector in the Middle East, and the rising demand for increasingly sophisticated services, the 2005 awards are viewed as an important milestone for the region’s medical community.
The awards will be organized in cooperation with independent health services research agency ECRI, which will manage the evaluation and judging process of the awards. The ceremony will take place on Feb. 14, 2005, at a Gala dinner at the Arab Health exhibition and conference in Dubai.
Commenting on the significance of the award, John Hassett, exhibition director for Arab Health, said Arab Health celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2005, and the Awards provide an ideal way of recognizing the region’s medical specialists for the major contribution they make to the lives of the people of the Middle East.
The regional significance of the event is reflected in the number of countries that have accepted invitations to the event, including Bahrain, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE and Yemen.
This year, the committee will launch several new categories of competition, to complement the existing awards. These cover new fields in the health care industry, including best health care educational program and best patient safety program.
Special attention will be given to the organizations and individuals involved in rebuilding the Iraqi health care system.
For 2005, the committee has added a new award for the organization that provided the best relief program to Iraq.
