by
John W. Mitchell, Senior Correspondent | February 27, 2015
From the January/February 2015 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
HCBN: What has surprised you about your time in Dubai?
PM: How westernized it is — you would have a hard time distinguishing the city from the U.S. or Europe. I have worked in other diverse hospitals, but I have been surprised at how accepting everyone is. On Christmas, I did rounds in our outpatient clinics and all the Muslim staff wished me a merry Christmas. Cultural respect here is very genuine. It is a very clean and modern city. Tourism is a big part of the economy, the rulers keep the province clean and safe — there are significant security precautions in place. Dubai has a very low crime rate compared to most any U.S. city.
HCBN: What are your plans for this year?
PM: I am researching and writing a five-year strategic plan, which includes establishing Regional Centers of Excellence and the development of clinics in the community outside its medical campus. And we are working on opening the first acute rehabilitation center in the city. Another interesting thing is that the government has recently mandated that everyone have health insurance.
One of the requirements when the owners were recruiting was that the CEO be American. They needed someone who had knowledge of the U.S. health care system and who could negotiate with insurance companies, which is relatively new in the market due to the mandate. In the U.S., of course, administrators have been negotiating with insurance companies for decades. The UAE is beginning to see some of the nuances of the U.S. health care system creep their way into the country.
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here to view the hospital spotlight pictorial of American Hospital Dubai.
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