RIYADH: In a major development in the health sector, a strategic partnership was inked in Riyadh between a leading Saudi company and US company on Monday to deliver a suite of high-quality education, training and strategic advisory offerings in the Kingdom and in the region.
Faisaliah Medical Systems (FMS) a subsidiary of Al-Faisaliah Group Holding, signed the partnership agreement with Partners Healthcare International (PHI).
President and CEO of Al-Faisaliah Group Holding Prince Mohammed Khalid Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, and Dr. Gilbert H. Mudge, Jr., Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and president of Partners HealthCare International (PHI), signed the accord.
PHI is the international division of Partners HealthCare System, the leading not-for-profit, academic health system in the United States founded by the largest teaching hospitals affiliated with Harvard Medical School, including Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Brigham & Women's Hospital (BWH). Partners Healthcare employs more than 50,000 staff at Harvard Medical School. Its education is a learning adventure guided by a faculty of more than 11,000 of the world's leading scientists, medical researchers and academicians, and practicing physicians.
Through the special partnership, Al Faisaliah Group Holding will create a subsidiary entity that will focus on establishing collaboration programs between leading healthcare institutions and clinicians in the Kingdom and those of Partners HealthCare and its Harvard Medical School affiliated hospitals.
Following the signing ceremony. Prince Mohammed said that these programs will include a wide range of high-quality training services designed to enhance the knowledge and capabilities of health care professionals. It will also include healthcare-related advisory and planning services customized to meet the specific needs of local healthcare providers to enable them to establish highly competitive clinical and research programs.
"Al-Faisaliah Group has a long history of contributing to the advancement of healthcare in the Kingdom. We take great pride in what the Kingdom has achieved so far and see this as another leap forward in our collaboration with the Kingdom's innovation leaders," Prince Mohammed said.
The prince also pointed out that the agreement sets an example of an ideal strategic alliance, bringing together two trusted contributors with one imperative aim; ensuring that his healthcare institutions have access to world-class resources dedicated to improving healthcare in the Kingdom and the region.
"This long-term partnership aligns the in-depth understanding of market needs offered by Al-Faisaliah along with the unique expertise offered by Partners Healthcare and Harvard clinical faculty, to ensuring efficacy and longevity of offered services."
Responding to the prince's remarks, Mudge indicated that the partnership was formed in recognition of the Kingdom's commitment to expanding and strengthening healthcare delivery, health professional education, and biomedical research.
He said the PHI has made a strategic decision to join with Al-Faisaliah as its trusted local partner.
"Our vision is to establish long-term relationships with current and future leading organizations committed to excellence in health care delivery and medical, nursing and allied health education." He also said the program would help both parties learn from each other's experience.
During the opening remarks, Baker S. Al-Mashhadani, FMS business development manager said his company has strived to offer the healthcare society value added solutions that contribute to the elevation of health services in the Kingdom as well as in the region.
"The emergence of a new entity will carry the responsibility of establishing collaboration programs between leading healthcare institutions and its clinicians in the Kingdom with their counterparts in PHI and its Harvard School affiliated hospitals," Al-Mashhadani said, adding the partnership will play a significant role in the transfer of knowledge and best practices of evidence-based methodologies to the region.
© Arab News 2012
