ABU DHABI, National Reference Laboratory (NRL), a Mubadala Health partner, is organising the third edition of its POCT Advances conference on March 11th and 12th. The event will take place at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and will feature distinguished speakers in the field of point-of-care testing (POCT), including policymakers from the Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH) and other medical specialists. The conference will cover the latest developments and advances in POCT and will encourage the medical community to consider the benefits of POCT for the broader healthcare infrastructure. The Dubai Health Authority has accredited the conference with Continuing Medical Education (CME), and medical professionals attending the event are eligible to receive over 9 CME hours. According to Jonathan Harris, Senior Manager of POCT and Quality at National Reference Laboratory, the POCT Advances conference’s third edition will play a critical role in educating the medical community about the benefits of decentralised testing and how it can transform healthcare delivery. National Reference Laboratory sees the disruptive potential of POCT, which is fast, accurate, accessible, and effective in helping primary caregivers make real-time decisions. POCT requires minimal sample size, and there are fewer potential points of failure that could negatively affect results. Testing can be conducted in remote locations using portable devices for cardiovascular conditions, coagulation, sepsis, infectious diseases, and other endocrine disorders. POCT is a diagnostic testing method performed at the patient’s point of care that provides quick results comparable in accuracy to traditional laboratory testing. For hospitals and clinics, it can significantly reduce reporting time, often delivering results immediately to the patient, allowing physicians to make rapid diagnoses and provide immediate treatment. Dr. Laila AbdelWareth, Acting Executive Director of National Reference Laboratory, stated that “In the Middle East, we are steadily progressing towards implementing the primary care model, which directs patients to their primary care physician for most of their healthcare needs. A critical component of this model is having POCT available in primary care facilities. Through the conference, we aim to emphasize the benefits of POCT to the healthcare community and why it is time for us to explore alternative and more effective approaches to medical testing.” The first day of the conference will concentrate on financing, infrastructure, and education around POCT testing, with notable experts advocating for POCT in their respective fields. The second day of the conference will focus on POCT and its advantages to the community, as well as the intersection of POCT and digital health. The conference will feature speakers who are leading experts from the UAE, Europe, and the MENA region, including Amna Ibrahim Al Saeedi, Section Head of Health Technology and Innovation Impact Assessment at the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH); Dr. Shiefa Sequeira, Clinical Scientist at the Dubai Health Authority (DHA); Dr. Heba Kary, Head of Clinical Biochemistry and POCT at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Dr. Ola Jarad, Associate Staff Physician at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi; Dr. Wael Elamin, Medical Director at G42 Healthcare in the UAE; Jaham Shada Habib Said, POCT Supervisor at Hamad Medical in Qatar; and Dr. Annette Thomas, POCT Strategy Group Chair and National POCT Clinical Lead at NHS Wales in the UK.
Source: Emirates News Agency