As we enter September, across the world, COVID-19 is still running rampant, with the Delta variant causing a spike in cases and hospitalisations.
But there is some light at the end of the tunnel with businesses picking up. This was evident at Arab Health and Medlab Middle East 2021, held in the UAE in June. The event generated AED767.7 million new business deals during the physical show and welcomed 22,800 visitors (pg 06). In addition, FIME, one of the largest medical trade shows of the Americas, held in Miami, also recently took place and brought together medical device and equipment manufacturers and healthcare professionals from across the U.S., Central and South America and the Caribbean (pg 08).
In this issue, we had the opportunity to sit down with Dr Anton Decker, President of Mayo Clinic International. He discussed the healthcare institute’s response to the pandemic, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC) Abu Dhabi, the joint venture between Mayo Clinic and Abu Dhabi, and how it’s striving to bring the “Mayo model of care” closer to patients (pg 16).
The global pandemic has brought to light one of the most important intersects – the one between healthcare and technology. On pg 14, we look at five main challenges facing today’s healthcare sector, for which automation may be a good solution.