Peter Makowski
Peter Makowski
CEO at American Hospital Dubai
“AHD has gained tremendous benefits after joining Mayo Clinic Care Network”
Peter Makowski, CEO at American Hospital Dubai, is a highly experienced hospital leader having held a range of senior positions and led with distinction a number of healthcare institutions in the USA. “Hospitals” magazine met with Mr. Peter Makowski to talk about the latest medical services at AHD, how the hospital has benefited from joining the renowned Mayo Clinic Care Network, how much the country contributes to developing the health sector among other things. Below is the full interview:
The hospital’s administration is keen to keep abreast of international events and medical developments in order to provide the finest medical services in accordance with patients’ needs. What are the latest medical services and departments at American Hospital Dubai today?
We recently expanded our intensive care unit (ICU) – from nine to 19 beds – to accommodate and extend high-quality critical care to more patients. This move is the result of our constant efforts to look for ways to enhance our services and capabilities to the community. Over the past year, AHD has added a number of new services to better meet the needs of our patients. These include; bariatric surgery to help people with morbid obesity and those whose quality of life is seriously compromised due to weight related complications; Cardiac Electrophysiology, a diagnostic procedure to look more closely at the electrical function of your heart, AHD has the only EP Lab in Dubai; a 640 slice CT scanner with a 85% reduction in radiation dose to patients; Stereotactic Radiosurgery to deliver the radiosurgery treatments for patients diagnosed with brain and lung cancer, this is a highly focused treatment that significantly reduces side effects.
More than a year after joining the Mayo Clinic Care Network, how do you assess the situation today? How much have you benefited from that and exchanged experiences?
The patients of the American Hospital Dubai have benefited tremendously a year after joining the renowned Mayo Clinic Care Network. For over a year, we have gained relevant insights on various cases, including complex medical conditions. We consult our prominent partner about various challenging cases to ensure that our patients are receiving the best of care.
How did the patients at the American Hospital Dubai benefit from this affiliation?
Through our affiliation with Mayo Clinic, our physicians are given access to the institution’s renowned expertise. They can consult and collaborate regarding treatment and drug options for various diseases. Such exchanges of expertise assure our patients that leading experts are looking into and discussing their cases to provide exceptional medical treatments. If a patient’s condition requires a consultation, then this is done at no expense to the patient.
We must talk about the role of the state in supporting the health sector and its efforts to overcome obstacles to provide the best medical services. How do you assess the health situation in the UAE today? How much is the country contributing to developing this sector?
The UAE Government has established preventive health measures and offers integrated and advanced healthcare services delivered in innovative and sustainable ways. Health education is gaining ground in the country and there is a strong promotion for Public / Private Partnerships. It is encouraging that all local stakeholders are working as one to provide the best healthcare solutions in line with global standards and according to the goals of UAE Vision 2021.
Private hospitals play a pivotal role in the realization of the country’s goal to build a world-class health system. At American Hospital Dubai, we recognize the significance of formulating policies, forging relevant partnerships, and implementing programs that will contribute to the growth of the UAE health community.
As we aim to provide high-quality, excellent, cost-effective and innovative patient care, we have embarked on key endeavors to ensure that we fulfill our commitment to our patients. Our partnership with Mayo Clinic is a concrete demonstration of this. Additionally, we are continuously working towards enhancing our systems and processes according to the standards of international institutions to gain accreditation and recognition for our various centers of excellence.
We have also put in place a host of packages of medical services to attract international patients in line with the objective of Dubai and the rest of the UAE to intensify their health tourism industries. We have, in fact, established a division dedicated to addressing the unique needs of global health travelers.
We will continuously offer the best services to help strengthen the local health system.
We would like to discuss the Service Excellence Program and its role in providing the best possible healthcare. What is this program? What is its importance in reaching this major level of high-quality medical services?
Our Service Excellence Program utilizes an effective tool to measure patient satisfaction in all of our services. We designed this program as part of our bid to exceed the expectations of our patients, provide the best experience, and offer excellent services to help our patients recover and lead a quality life. Through the program, our patients can give their feedback in real time and rate their experience with our staff and services. From our end, we will evaluate their feedback daily for further improvement of the processes of the entire hospital.
After this success, how do you assess this new chapter in the treatment of cancer patients at the regional level today?
Following globally recognized protocols for handling cancer cases, acquiring state-of-the-art equipment, embarking on continuous scientific research activities, and promoting efficient doctor collaboration have made the region even more capable of treating cancer patients. In the case of American Hospital Dubai, our partnership with the Mayo Clinic, has helped further strengthen our competencies and capabilities in handling such serious conditions.
To what extent will this contribute to the growth of hospital admissions for treatment locally and regionally, especially through the hospital’s International Patients Department?
This demonstrates the country’s commitment to meeting the highest standards of excellence and quality. This has led to increased patient trust and confidence in our proven capabilities to deliver excellent healthcare solutions and which in turn contribute to the growth of hospital admissions.
The American Hospital Dubai collaborates closely with the Dubai Health Authority to reach out not only to local and regional patients but individuals from other parts of the world.We visit various countries to highlight the quality and affordability of our services.
Going beyond providing world-class healthcare services, the men and women behind our dedicated International Patient Relations Department are also trained to provide the right information to assist our patients in booking their flights and hotels, among others.
Your hospital offers “healthcare packages.” What are these packages? Who are the target groups?
Our host of healthcare packages caters to different age groups and targets common health concerns. Each package offers a series of comprehensive medical tests for accurate diagnosis of the diseases and effective treatment to help our patients lead a healthy life. Some of these include bariatric; well man and well women screening; screening colonoscopy; cardiology; knee replacement; dermatology; breast cancer; and maternity services.
What about the awareness programs that you offer and their role in spreading cultural awareness in the community?
We recognize the value of public awareness and education in nurturing a healthy population. Private health institutions are vital to empowering society when it comes to their health. The American Hospital Dubai has been active in this regard. We have launched the breast cancer awareness campaign, for instance, in which we give special discounts on our mammogram and breast ultrasound tests.
Stress management awareness is another important initiative implemented in coordination with Dubai Police in which we conduct medical missions in various underserved areas. We also celebrate nutrition month to promote mindful eating, which involves awareness of internal and external cues influencing the desire to eat, food choice, quantity of consumption, and the manner in which the food is consumed.
We will continue to create similar campaigns to serve the community and raise the level of health awareness in our society.
