Over 32,000 patients visited HMC’s Internal Medicine Clinic in 2017

DOHA: Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Internal Medicine Clinic marked its four-year anniversary, recently. The unique clinic, located at Building 310 in Hamad Bin Khalifa Medical City, is part of Hamad General Hospital and was established to provide follow-up care to patients with chronic medical conditions.

Dr Nasseer Masoodi, Vice Chair, Medicine and Head of the Internal Medicine Clinic, said that in 2017 over 32,000 patient visits were recorded at the clinic. He said they are on track to reach the same number this year with 15,116 patient visits registered during the first half of this year.

“At the Internal Medicine Clinic we are focused on providing continuity of care to existing chronic disease patients. We provide high-quality, personalized care and collaborate closely with a number of hospitals and departments across HMC. Our clinic is unique because of the co-location of outpatient and key support facilities,” said Dr Masoodi.

“The clinic is also unique because it was designed with the patient in mind, and specifically with the idea of minimizing the movement of patients. Patients receive all their care in the same examination room, with clinicians moving around the patient. Our clinic is staffed by a multidisciplinary team which includes 14 internal medicine specialists as well as endocrinology, diabetes, and kidney disease specialists, therapeutic nutritionists, pharmacists, health educators, nurses, and administrative staff,” he added.

The clinic was established with the mandate of providing comprehensive follow-up care designed to help patients with chronic conditions manage their disease and avoid complications.

Dr Aisha Al Kubaisi, Consultant, Medicine and Deputy Head of the Internal Medicine Clinic, said that patients are referred to the clinic from across HMC’s general hospital network, as well as the National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Qatar Biobank, Hamad General Hospital’s Emergency Department, Red Crescent clinics and the Mobile Doctor’s service.

“During their visits each patient spends up to 30-minutes with our care teams. During this time, we provide a comprehensive follow-up that is designed to help the patient manage both their condition and any medication they have been prescribed and to prevent any disease complications,” said Dr Al Kubaisi.

Dr Al Kubaisi added that patient education is a major focus for the Internal Medicine Clinic. During the last four years the team at the Internal Medicine Clinic has made a significant effort to ensure the services provided meet the needs of their patients. Patient satisfaction surveys have shown that over 95 percent of respondents would recommend the clinic to family and friends and a patient satisfaction survey conducted this year indicated that overall satisfaction rates were between 95 percent and 98 percent.

Also an innovative approach pioneered by the clinic to help improve health outcomes for patients with type 2 diabetes, is considered as a success story for the clinic. The initiative, which was introduced in 2016, is run in six-month cycles with each group involving around ten patients.

As part of the initiative, type 2 diabetic patients receiving care at the clinic meet once a month to discuss and learn about diabetic care and how the disease impacts their overall health.

احتفلت عيادة الطب الباطني -التابعة لمؤسسة حمد الطبية- خلال شهر سبتمبر الماضي، بمرور 4 أعوام على افتتاحها.

وقد أُنشئت بهدف تأمين استمرارية الرعاية لأصحاب الأمراض المزمنة، وتستقبل العيادة مرضى قسم الأمراض الباطنة من الحالات المزمنة وحالات أمراض الكلى والغدد الصماء وأمراض كبار السن وغيرها، وذلك بمقرها في مبنى رقم 310 بمدينة حمد بن خليفة الطبية. وذكر الدكتور نصير مسعودي -استشاري أول الطب الباطني ورئيس العيادة- أن العيادة نفّذت خلال عام 2017 قرابة 32 ألف زيارة علاجية، كما بلغ عدد الزيارات العلاجية بالعيادة خلال النصف الأول من العام الحالي 15116 زيارة.

وأضاف قائلاً: «تركز عيادة الطب الباطني على تقديم رعاية طبية عالية الجودة، وميسورة، للمرضى المصابين بعدة أمراض مزمنة، في مرفق علاجي يقع خارج المستشفى، وهي تمثل جزءاً مهماً من عملية التحول المستمرة في الخدمات الإكلينيكية لمؤسسة حمد الطبية. ويعمل في العيادة فريق متكامل يضم 14 من أطباء الباطنة، بالإضافة إلى تخصصات أخرى مثل الغدد الصماء والسكري وأمراض الكلى، واختصاصيي التغذية العلاجية، والصيادلة، والمثقفين الصحيين، والتمريض، والكوادر الإدارية.;