“We were here at the beginning and will continue to be here as we advance together”
Aamal Medical Company (AMC) has achieved outstanding success that clearly impacted the path of the healthcare sector in Qatar and its support. It mainly focused on providing IT solutions in the healthcare sector, and made remarkable accomplishments over the past years.
“Hospitals” magazine was honored to meet with Gökhan Ozkan, General Manager of Aamal Medical to shed light on the company’s main activities in the health sector in Qatar and its role in supporting this path.
How does your company contribute to the healthcare sector in the State of Qatar?
Aamal Medical is proud to be one of the leading medical technology and service providers in Qatar. Qatar has ambitious targets as a country, so does Aamal Medical. We bring the latest medical technologies and innovations to help healthcare stakeholders achieve their targets and optimize their results.
Can you give us some examples about how your company supported the healthcare sector in Qatar?
Aamal Medical is one of the most established companies in this sector. We have seen a lot of events, many ups and downs, over the last 20 years. We were there when the first hospitals were built. We were there when the first ever integrated operating theaters were introduced. We were there when the first EMR (Electronic Medical Records) and PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications System) were installed. We were there when COVID-19 required all stakeholders to work together. And finally, we are here for the largest ever sports event in Qatar – the FIFA World Cup. All of these require a dynamic mindset, a flexible approach and a good understanding of the needs of our stakeholders. All our activities are underpinned by our underlying principle – integrity.
What are the most important areas that have benefited from technology solutions, especially in the field of digitization and automation?
Digitization is at the core of transformation. It defines the way institutions work and interact with each other. Digitization and automation happen across the spectrum, from the individual level to the national/international level.
At an individual level, we enable access to medical data. For example, we provide and maintain more than 5000 medical workstations in hospitals to help nurses and hospital workers work more effectively, enabling faster access to data with fewer errors.
At a department level, we provide expert clinical workflow systems which help departments streamline their workflow. For example, we provide CVIS (Cardiovascular Information Systems) solutions from General Electric (GE). These systems take measurements directly from ultrasounds and other connected medical devices to help doctors report with accuracy and speed.
At a hospital level, we integrate all medical device alarms into one communication system to reduce ‘alarm fatigue’ and staff burnout. And we provide IRLS (Incident Reporting and Learnings System) to improve medical safety for patients and staff.
At a national level, we help hospitals exchange patient information with each other. This is called HIE (Health Information Exchange). This helps patients be transferred between hospitals and helps physicians be more informed about a patient’s treatment plans. We work with Lyniate’s Rhapsody Integration Engine in this area, which is the world leader in this field.
What is the role of Aamal Medical in providing vital medical equipment?
Healthcare is a basic human right. We believe the sustainability of the healthcare system is key to achieving this goal. Aamal Medical’s team is formed of experienced medical equipment experts who have the understanding and experience to source sustainable medical solutions from over 50+ healthcare equipment suppliers from across the world and bring them to Qatar. Aamal Medical caters to a wide range of customers in the medical sector including government, semi-government and private organizations.
What impact has the FIFA World Cup had on the healthcare sector in Qatar? What was the role of Aamal Medical?
Qatar is hosting the FIFA World Cup, one of the most prestigious and exciting events in the world. The infrastructure and experience Qatar has gained by hosting this event will ensure we are well placed to host similar events in the future. The preparation for the World Cup required a different level of thinking and reliability. People travelling to Qatar will find a very well-equipped emergency service. We have worked with Stryker, a global leader, to provide specialist emergency resuscitation equipment in locations around the city to create a ‘heart-safe’ environment. All these investments will increase the quality of life in Qatar and we are delighted to be able to play our part in this important area.
What are the future planned projects for Aamal Medical?
We can divide this into three or four areas, we call them solution spaces. When you need an emergency medical service, you only have minutes, if not seconds. There is a select group of companies that can provide these specialized services and you need to know that your partner is 100% reliable. This is Aamal Medical.
We are consolidating solutions in critical areas such as cardiology, women’s health, surgery and radiotherapy. Technology advances very fast in these areas. Surgical robots are becoming more advanced, with new generations of robots already being introduced. Adaptive radiotherapy technologies help treat more patients with more precision. These are difficult areas and require clinical workflow know-how, and technical expertise on multiple integrated tools and equipment.
Our journey evolves with Qatar’s healthcare journey. We were here at the beginning of this journey, and we will continue to be here as we advance together.
