Middle East Healthcare News » Medicine

Oman Focuses on Negative Impact of Medical Drugs Reports

ICTFH — Mon, 10 May 2010 10:27:57 +0000

Dr Sawsan bint Ahmed bin Jaafar, Director-General of Pharmacology and Medicine Monitoring, has said that the World Health Organization accords great significance to after-marketing follow-up of medical drugs and, for this purpose, set up a centre for Medicinal Alert in Uppsala city, Switzerlands. The centre aims to detect any negative impacts of medicines, other than known side effects, in public health and it receives reports on such cases from different parts of the world, said Dr Sawsan.

She added that the centre will study the reports, the medicines and the types of food used during the medicine’s intake, and analyze the outcome. Then the centre sends circulations about the findings to help improve health services and the products themselves. Dr Sawsan explained that the impacts vary from one person to another and from child to adult.

Two specialists, one with doctorate and the other a practising pharmacist, work for the Omani medical alert centre, which is hoped to be transformed into a full-fledged department when more specialists join.

She added that the patients themselves can in future file their own reports of negative impacts of medicines using a simple form which will be available in health institutions. Due to negative impacts the Ministry of Health cancelled the registration of some medicines like Redectil, which contains Sibutramine, a substance used for reducing weight, and removed the medicine from the market, said Dr Sawsan.

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Oman Pharmaceutical Company Wins FDA Approval

ICTFH — Sun, 09 May 2010 19:41:40 +0000

Oman Pharmaceutical Products Company, OPP, belonging to the Al Bahja Group announced that it has won its first product approval from the US Federal Drug Administration (FDA).

OPP said it won the FDA approval for its product Neomycin, paving the way for its sale in the US. The development follows the successful audit of OPP’s manufacturing facility by FDA officials recently.

Al Bahja Group Managing Director Sujay Hamlai, said “We are extremely delighted with this approval. It validates our commitment to provide quality medicines at affordable prices.”

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Al Rahba Hospital organizes first National Trauma Conference in Abu Dhabi

ICTFH — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:19:09 +0000

Al Rahba Hospital will host the first National Trauma Conference in UAE this weekend from April 30th May 1st. The event brings together more than 400 medical practitioners and members of the regulatory community to discuss trauma medicine, share information on the issue, develop assessment skills and improve management of trauma cases.

The conference is being led by Nellie Boma, M.D., M.P.H, and Chief Medical Officer of Al Rahba Hospital. About 20 trauma specialists from Al Rahba, other SEHA HealthSystem facilities and experts from around the region are presenting some 24 different topics across a variety of subjects from prevention to rehabilitation of trauma injuries.

Al Rahba Hospital established an affiliation with the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma in October 2009. As part of this affiliation, the hospital participated in the first of its kind Trauma Centre Consultation Survey in the Middle East on behalf of American College. This consultative review to establish a Level II, Type I Trauma Center at Al Rahba was the first of its kind in the UAE and only the second such review outside of the United States.

According to Dr. Boma, Al Rahba Hospital has built a multidisciplinary Trauma Committee to provide patients with a prioritized plan of care. This is a comprehensive set of services as medical staff work in close coordination to implement appropriate treatments based on the individuals condition on arrival in the Emergency Room.

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Health Ministry Asks Pharmaceutical Companies to Appoint Pharmaceutical Vigilance Officer

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:03:15 +0000

UAE Ministry of Health stated that all pharmaceuticals and medicine companies registered at the Registration and Pharmaceutical Drugs Department will be required to appoint a pharmaceutical vigilance officer in their organizations.

Dr. Amin Al Amiri, Executive Director for Medical Practices and Licenses at the UAE Ministry of Health the decision, explained that all the above mentioned companies are requested to appoint a pharmaceutical vigilance officer who must be a doctor, pharmacist, drugs specialist or toxicologist. This officer must have a practical experience in monitoring and following up the reports of drugs side effects, clinical studies and clinical pharmacology.

Dr. Al Amiri said: “All candidates must provide their approved documents including qualifications, experiences, contact information, fax, mobile, phone and email addresses. We addressed all pharmaceutical manufacturers and medical companies to provide their pharmaceutical vigilance and risk management plans at the time of registration or renewal.

The plans include medical products, pharmaceuticals, innovative pharmaceutical products containing active substances registered for the first time, medium or high risk products in addition to other products that have been included in previous circulars by the Ministry of Health or international drugs control association in terms of their safety and side effects”. Dr. Al Amiri explained that the decision demanded all the companies to provide the ministry with an updated safety list of their pharmaceutical and medical products. Such reports must include a yearly detailed report of the medical products that have been registered between 6 months-1 year, an annual record of the products that have been registered between 1-3 years and a progress report every 3 years for the products that have been registered for more than 3 years.

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Osteoporosis Indicated in One Third of Older Men Undergoing Treatment in Hospital

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:02:18 +0000

In a study conducted by Dr. Haider M Al Attia, Consultant Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at Al Noor Hospital, Airport Road, Abu Dhabi, tested the density of the femur bone in140 predominantly Arab male patients aged 55 years and over – who were attending hospital for the treatment of other conditions – to determine the prevalence of osteoporosis in this group.

The research found that between 22 percent of men aged 55 plus, and 34 percent of those over the age of 64.5 years, were suffering from the bone condition, which increases the risk of bone fracture and the likelihood of disability and death.

“Osteoporosis is a hidden disease in men, but from my own study you can see that the condition could be affecting a significant number of older Arab males in the UAE. The majority of these men will not even know they have the disease and may already have fractures that can lead to serious disability, and an increased risk of death,” Dr. Al Attia warned.

“Despite osteoporosis being more common in women, our study highlights the fact that if you are a male with osteoporosis you are as likely to suffer from a fragility fracture as a female patient. Early diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis is essential, because after one fracture there is a five to 10-fold increase in the risk of suffering a second fracture within one year, and a two-fold increase in risk of hip fracture, with a resulting rise in the chance of suffering from disability and death,” Dr Al Attia said.

“Doctors in the UAE have all kinds of medications within accessible reach which they can use to treat osteoporosis, and men should be benefitting from these treatments, as well as women. Osteoporosis should always be investigated when caring for elderly patients, and it is vital that health providers and health educators in the UAE start to raise awareness of this debilitating disease among men,” he added.

However, there are a number of other factors which increase the risk, including treatment with glucocorticoid steroids, anticonvulsants, Vitamin D deficiency, chronic liver and kidney disease, smoking, excess alcohol intake, low levels of androgens, such as testosterone, and low levels of oestrogen.

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The Supreme Council for Health Helps in Increasing Health Awareness

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:00:22 +0000

The Supreme Council for Health recently saw the conclusion of “Healthy Steps to Doha” programme, initiated in association with Supreme Education Council (SEC) to help increase health awareness and combat child obesity in schools.

“Obesity has become one of the major epidemics with the latest statistics from World Health Organization showing one billion people as obese and childhood obesity tripling over the last 30 years. Worldwide, approximately 22 million children under the age of five are obese,” said H E Abdullah bin Khalid Al Qahtani, Minister of Public Health and General Secretary of the SCH.

“Qatar strives to provide all the possibilities and means to protect public health by promoting various programmes, improving supervision of food and medicine, and developing and implementing strategies to raise awareness of health and dissemination of sound and effective practices,” the minister said. The healthy steps programme in Qatar was implemented in collaboration with a New York-based programme “Healthy Steps to Albany. The teams from Abu Obaida Independent Preparatory School, Rouqaya Preparatory School and Al Jazeera Academy underwent rigorous health education lectures, healthy cooking demonstrations and physical activities and games which were converted into steps around Doha.

The programme was aimed at supporting teachers to teach students about nutrition science and healthy food. It encouraged students to adopt a healthy lifestyle by eating healthy and exercising regularly. Parents were also encouraged to follow suit and support their children in living better and healthier lifestyles.

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Syria And UAE Discuss Medical Cooperation

ICTFH — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 11:06:44 +0000

Dr. Rida, Minister of Health, discussed with Director General of the UAE Ministry of Health Dr. Salem al-Darmaki cooperation in health sector and developing it through the first meeting of the Syrian-Emirati Technical and Health Committee.

Minister Said expressed desire to cooperate with the UAE in the domains of nursing, management and medicine control in addition to exchanging expertise for adopting the standards of medical competence and experience.

According to Dr. al-Darmaki, his visit to Syria aims at getting acquainted with the latest developments in health services and laying the ground for a partnership agreement between the ministries of health in both countries.

The Syrian-Emirati Joint Committee will discuss over two days bilateral cooperation in the fields of health care, spreading health awareness, reproductive health and information systems in addition to exchanging expertise for combating cancer, transplanting organs and developing pharmaceutical industries.

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Al Ain Hosts The Annual International Pediatric Conference

ICTFH — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:46:59 +0000

Tawam Hospital, in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Medicine, will be hosting the 2010 Annual International Pediatric Conference from April 22nd to 24th, 2010 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Al Ain.

The conference will host prominent speakers from Johns Hopkins Medicine USA, Europe, and the Middle East, along with a number of specialists from national hospitals.

The conference’s topics will cover many important general and sub-specialty pediatric issues, such as advances in management of general pediatrics, different sub-specialties including neonatal care and hematology oncology and many more.

Further, nine separate workshops on the practical management of common pediatric sub-specialty scenarios will be provided during the conference days. Each workshop will feature the latest practical and hands-on management of each sub-specialty disease.

“Due to large number of confirmations, almost double the amount we received last year, and the overwhelming positive feedback we have received, we decided to increase the number of workshops from four to nine this year. Tawam Hospital is very proud to be hosting one of the largest and most important events in the field of pediatrics in this region.” said Gregory F. Schaffer the CEO Tawam Hospital.

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UAE Calls For Establishing A Generic Medicines Association

ICTFH — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:49:38 +0000

A senior official at the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi (HAAD) called for the introduction of cost-effective drugs across Abu Dhabi through a strategy that does not compromise patient safety.

The usage of pharmaceutical products in the UAE has grown at a rate of 21 per cent per annum above the world average.

Ten key health regulators from eight Middle East and North Africa (Mena) countries, World Health Organization (WHO) delegates, and 20 pharmaceutical companies took part in the two-day conference.

The conference discussed the need to establish a Middle East Generic Association (Mega) to support the use of cost effective medicines without compromising the safety of patients.

According to Dr Al Khair, the association is expected to function as a common platform among regulatory bodies and the pharmaceutical industry across the Mena region. It will help ensure sustainable health care.

The total revenue from drug sales across the UAE stands at $1.2 billion a year (Dh4.4 billion), the HAAD official said, adding that 25 per cent of this was from sale of generic drugs, known as generics in short.

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New Preventive Medicine Complex to Open in Umm Al Qiwain

ICTFH — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:20:51 +0000

Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Um Al Qaiwain, and His Excellency Dr. Hanif Hassan, Minister of Health, will open the new preventive medicine centre today in Um Al Qaiwain.

Dr. Mahmoud Fikri, Executive Director for Health Policies at the UAE Ministry of Health, stated that the centre is a new model for the preventive medicine centre in the UAE. It combines various departments, such as examination centre for expat labourers, maternal and childhood centre, schools’ health central clinic, disease control section and registration of births and deaths section.

He explained that the complex will also include a central lab with services for all the departments and a central pharmacy to provide all the required medicines for the preventive medicine programme. Fikri indicated the ministry speeded up operation of the new complex in the context of its strategic plan to develop work in the preventive medicine sector, stressing that the importance of promoting the primary healthcare and preventive medicine services as per the strategies of the World Health Organization “WHO”.

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