HMC funds employees to attend unique IHI open school courses on quality management and patient safety

Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) employees will benefit from the unique Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Open School, as part of the organization’s commitment to continuous improvement and the delivery of quality patient care.

Launched in September 2008, the IHI Open School provides students of medicine, nursing, public health, pharmacy, health administration, dentistry, and other allied health professions with the opportunity to learn about quality improvement and patient safety.

The unprecedented learning opportunity comes at the conclusion of the Middle East Forum on Quality Improvement in Healthcare in Doha this weekend.

HMC and IHI, a recognized international leader in healthcare improvement and innovation, collaborated to bring this three-day event to the region for the first time. The event gathered more than 2500 hospital administrators, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals from Qatar and the wider region and firmly places quality of patient care on the regional healthcare agenda.

Managing Director of HMC, Hanan Al Kuwari PhD, said the IHI is recognized as one of the international leaders in healthcare improvement and innovation and the collaboration between the two organizations would reap real benefits for patients.

“Their passionate belief that everyone should receive the best care fuels their mission to improve health and healthcare,” said Dr. Al Kuwari. “HMC staff will be given free access to the IHI’s Open School – an excellent online resource which will continue our learning opportunities long after the Forum.  The sessions held over the three days of the Forum and the Open School will provide us with many great ideas. Staff should feel empowered to improve patient care and to use what we’ve learned here for the immediate benefit of our patients.”

The Open School launched in 2008 with objective of fostering importance of quality improvement and safety. More than 110,000 individuals have completed at least one course and more than16,000 individuals have completed the basic certificate. Currently the Open School has more than 135,000 students.

Dr. Abdullatif Al Khal, HMC’s Deputy Chief of Medical, Academic and Research Affairs for Medical Education, said the Open School is an opportunity for the Corporation’s front line clinical staff to further explore new ways to improve patient care.

“This collaboration will give HMC staff direct access to IHI’s exceptional faculty and methodologies which they have developed over the last 25 years,” Dr. Al Khal said. “HMC believes this is a very valuable resource for staff members. We are keen to see all staff engage in improvement science that promotes patient safety.”

Kedar Mate MD, a member of the IHI Faculty and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in the United States, said,“The Open School is our way of continuing the learning.  It provides an opportunity for a deeper understanding of what was covered during the sessions. This school encourages practice, or the implementation, of what has been gleaned during the sessions. The sessions are designed to change the way organizations think about the science of improvement, and the school provides the tools to implement this new thinking.”

“This conference forms the base of understanding, the building of a common baseline of knowledge. The Open School is part of our plan to build a culture that understands the importance of safety and quality improvement; together we are growing real expertise that will lead HMC into a bold new future.” 

Participants at the Middle East Forum held at the Qatar National Convention Center were able to attend sessions that were designed to be both stimulating and representational of the expansive healthcare quality improvement field.

Dr. Hussam Abdel Rahman, Trauma Consultant at Hamad General Hospital, said the Forum was an opportunity to learn from experts how to improve healthcare through measurements, through continuous education, and through collaboration with leading organizations in the world like the IHI.

“The new idea of Open School and continuous education with online courses provides a great opportunity for all the staff to improve their knowledge and expertise in regard to patient care and patient safety, which I think is a must and has become the cornerstone of healthcare,” he said. 

A nurse from the Pediatric Emergency Center in Al Sadd said the program helped improve their knowledge, particularly on how to work with patients, the family, the hospital and the community in order to improve patient safety.

 "I found all of the topics, workshops and other sessions greatly informative, especially those on leadership and management,” she said. “We were curious and very interested to participate in the event, because besides being very helpful in our work and in improving nursing care for patients, it helps us to grow professionally as well."