Philips Middle East, Tawam Hospital and Emirates Arthritis Foundation to Carry Out screening at Primary Healthcare Congress

Primary healthcare is a concept, largely accepted by the members of the World Health Organization (WHO) as the key to achieving ‘Health for All’.

Too often patients are missing an important recommended preventive health service, such as a mammogram or a cholesterol screening, often resulting in a gap in basic healthcare.

By increasing the quality of primary healthcare, the medical profession ultimately helps reduce medical costs therefore reducing the burden on government funds, insurers and ultimately patients themselves.

There are many silent killers in the UAE, most of which can be controlled or even prevented by quality primary healthcare checks. Statistics show that one out of five people in the UAE has diabetes and according to the Ministry of Health (MOH), diabetes-related heart problems were the biggest killer in the UAE in 2008, accounting for 31.6 per cent of deaths.

Philips Middle East will be running a health check booth at the 3rd Primary Healthcare Conference and Exhibition taking place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) from 11 and 13 October 2009. Delegates will be able to visit the booth to undergo a series of medical checks designed to highlight the importance of preventative medicine and to illustrate how simple procedures can go a long way to detecting underlying illnesses before they become unmanageable.

Louis Hakim, Vice President Royal Philips Electronics and Chief Executive Officer of Philips Middle East, said:

“The Philips health check booth is a tool to both educate and promote the concept of ‘prevention before cure’ , which is one of the keys to having a more healthy society. The number of people suffering from health issues such as diabetes and cholesterol continues to rise in the UAE. If health issues are detected at an early stage, an individual is at a lower risk of having it develop into a chronic disease in the future, where extensive treatment will be needed.”

Emirates Arthritis Foundation will also be doing on-site testing for early signs of arthritis.

“Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that is characterized by inflammation of the synovial joints. Early diagnosis and treatment within the first few months of the disease initiation is critical in preventing joint damage and disease progression. However, patients frequently experience symptoms of RA for an average of 9 to 12 months before diagnosis is made, and they often wait additional months for a rheumatologic referral,” says Katrina Thornely, Patient Support Director at the Emirates Arthritis Foundation.

“With this in mind, the Emirates Arthritis Foundation will be conducting basic diagnostic tests on our stand at this year Abu Dhabi Medical Congress, highlighting the importance of early diagnosis.”

In alignment with the National Breast Cancer Month, Tawam Hospital will be running a free breast cancer screening unit at the conference.

“We are very glad to be part of this year’s Primary Healthcare Conference especially during our very active Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign this month,” said Philippa Gail Clayton, Nurse Manger of Tawam’s Breast Care Center.

“This conference will help us reinforce our key messages on early detection of breast cancer and regular screening. All our activities throughout the month of October 2009 will include free screening for women aged 40 and above (nationals and residents of Abu Dhabi), utilising the Tawam Hospital Mobile Mammography Van.”

IIR Life Sciences, in partnership with The Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), will be running the conference as part of the 3rd Annual Abu Dhabi Medical Congress. The overriding theme will be for medical practitioners to discuss service innovations that can be used to improve patient care, to acquire useful tools that primary care providers can use to increase diagnosis and treatment, and to discuss medical advances for a variety of clinical subjects to provide up-to-date medical care regarding patients seen in a primary care setting.