ABU DHABI // Creating several academic institutes in the region that focus on biomedical research will not only lead to improvements in diagnosis and treatment of diseases, but can go a long way in aiding public policy and improving health care, says Dr Javaid Sheikh.
Dr Sheikh, the dean of Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, said that academia played a vital role in restructuring organisations and developing medical talent in a way that benefited local communities.
Speaking at the World Health Care Congress Middle East in the capital yesterday, Dr Sheikh said the academic side of health care, through its findings, could "influence and improve healthcare delivery".
"By creating centres of excellence that gather knowledge and findings to help improve treatment, we will know what kind of educational programmes, for example, can be best used to impact public policy," he said.
"This will in turn help in creating laws and new guidelines specific to the needs of the public. That is how you change and improve the delivery of health care, and that is what we need throughout the region."
There should by many leading academic institutes in the GCC to research the healthcare needs of nationals and residents, he said.