GE CitizenshipEmerging Healthcare Trends at Middle East Media Summit
The Middle East region currently faces a number of significant and serious healthcare challenges: life expectancy lags behind developed countries, the population is both increasing and aging and its citizens suffer some of the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in the world. The cost of treatment for cardiovascular disease alone is set to increase significantly over the next 20 years. These healthcare challenges are not only affecting the current reality of healthcare across the region, but it is also impacting its outlook and demand.
GE’s “Healthcare Re-imagined” vision promotes the “Early Health” model of care — helping clinicians re-imagine new ways to predict, diagnose, inform and treat disease, so their patients can live their lives to the fullest. This is the company’s focused response to the projected rise in healthcare costs in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region from U.S. $12 billion today to U.S. $60 billion by 2025.
As part of GE Healthcare’s ongoing commitment to raising healthcare standards in the region, it hosted the second annual regional media summit on June 19, 2008, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Richard di Benedetto, president and CEO, Eastern and African Growth Markets, GE Healthcare Europe, Middle East & Africa said: “Following the success of 2007’s summit, which placed the spotlight on regional healthcare needs, last year’s collaborative initiative further raised awareness around the importance of Early Health, leveraging an outstanding line-up of regional luminaries, who shared their health experiences and expertise.”
He added: “A key concern for this region is the rise in healthcare costs. Once again, this puts the spotlight on the need for an Early Health model of care. Shifting resources to Early Health and developing technologies that allow healthcare providers to diagnose disease at the earliest possible stage, when there can be many treatment options, is better medicine. It also makes simple economic sense.”
Developments in healthcare technology are being rapidly harnessed throughout the region to improve the general level of healthcare delivery. This is particularly relevant in addressing certain medical conditions that display a higher incidence regionally. Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions, and obesity, stress and smoking-related illnesses are on the rise.
The 2007 Middle East Media Summit addressed these issues and discussed the importance of earlier detection of diseases thereby helping to potentially reduce costs and enable many more treatment options, which ultimately benefits the patient. More than 50 delegates comprising leading medical professionals and media representatives joined GE Healthcare to discuss key trends, opportunities and developments in an interactive forum. The summit included presentations, case studies and lively debates on recent advances in healthcare in the region, specifically in the fields of Cardiology, Oncology, and IT and provided insights into the future of healthcare in the region.