NOTE FROM THE CEODear Reader,<strong>No</strong>w that the year is over, I can confirm that 2010 is a year in which we strengthened ourposition on the successes of the past as well as we built new capabilities for delivering highquality healthcare and operational excellence. I am proud to say that Patient Satisfactioncontinues to increase, with 97% of admitted patients stating that they would recommendus. This staggering increase is driven mainly by the large drop in the waiting times at ourOutpatient Specialty Clinics (OSC) and the improved customer service plan, which will entera new dimension with the implementation of the Patient Experience Map in 2011, similar towhat Cleveland Clinic, Ohio has.As Quality will always be our focus, we continue to create the proper infrastructure for besthealthcare delivery by creating the right gate keepers for our medical practices as we expandedthe mortality and morbidity reviews and adjusted its policies, plus many other indicators.Throughout this year also, we have been surveyed by HAAD and other international bodies andthe outcomes assured our readiness in terms of quality standards.Operationally, in addition to the OSC restructuring, the Emergency Department and theOperating Room went through similar improvement projects leading to better handling ofpatients and a reduction in the cancellations of surgeries. Cost reduction initiatives continue tobe the focus and performance management metrics are being introduced to all departments.Work on automation and implementations of SEHA driven initiatives continues to bring benefitsto our processes.Moreover, we established the Office of Professional Staff Affairs (OPSA), modeled after theCleveland Clinic, which is expected to result in significant improvements in physician recruitment,orientation, retention and turnover rates. Furthermore, we witnessed the renovation of ourcafeteria to better serve our patients and staff and we launched our new website to reflect thestate at which the <strong>Medical</strong> <strong>City</strong> is at.Finally, and as in last year, our patient volumes continued to increase as you continue to choose<strong>SKMC</strong> as your healthcare provider of choice. Our outpatient specialty visits increased by 7%compared to last year and our Emergency Department increased its volume by 12%.Thank you for your trust in our healthcare system.Patients First,Tej Maini, MD, FACSChief Executive Officer<strong>Sheikh</strong> <strong>Khalifa</strong> <strong>Medical</strong> <strong>City</strong>4
CLEVELAND CLINIC UPDATESCLEVELAND CLINIC GENOMIC MEDICINERESEARCHERS FIND CORRELATION BETWEENHEAD SIZE AND COLON CANCER RISKCowden Syndrome Detection Will Allow for EarlyDiscovery of Cancerous PolypsResearchers in Cleveland Clinic’s Genomic Medicine Institute havefound a strong correlation between large head circumferenceand cancer risk in patients with Cowden syndrome.Published in the December 2010 issue of the journalGastroenterology, the research focused on 127 patients whocarry the genetic mutation that causes Cowden syndrome, whichis associated with an increased risk of breast, thyroid and uterinecancers. Among these patients, large head circumference wasthe most common clinical trait.“What this means is that people with big heads – defined asgreater than 58 centimeters in men and 57 centimeters inwomen – should see a genetic counselor to determine whetherthey should be screened for colon, breast, thyroid and uterinecancers,” said lead researcher Charis Eng, M.D., Ph.D., HardisChair of the Genomic Medicine Institute in Cleveland Clinic’sLerner Research Institute.Prior to Cleveland Clinic’s research, the medical literatureestimated that just 25 percent of Cowden patients had largehead circumferences. This study, though, found a much highercorrelation, with 74.8 percent of the Cowden patients exhibitinglarge head size.CLEVELAND CLINIC UNVEILS TOP 10MEDICAL INNOVATIONS FOR 2010Hospital Experts Predict Ten Emerging TechnologiesThat Will Shape Health Care Next YearThe list of breakthrough devices and therapies was selected by a panel ofCleveland Clinic physicians and scientists and unveiled during Cleveland Clinic’s2010 <strong>Medical</strong> Innovation Summit.Four major criteria served as the basis for qualifying and selecting the Top 10<strong>Medical</strong> Innovations. <strong>No</strong>minated innovations were required to:· Have significant potential for short-term clinical impact (either a majorimprovement in patient benefit or an improved function that enhanceshealthcare delivery).· Have a high probability of success.· Be on the market or close to being introduced.· Have sufficient data available to support its nomination.The Top 10 <strong>Medical</strong> Innovations for 2010 are:10. Capsule endoscopy for diagnosis of pediatric GI disorders:A pill-sized camera captures 50,000 high-resolution images during itspainless six- to eight-hour journey through the digestive tract, provingbetter than x-ray at detecting small bowel ulcerations, polyps and areasof bleeding.9. Oral disease-modifying treatment for multiple sclerosis:Before fingolimid was approved by the FDA this year, MS drugs had tobe injected or infused on a regular basis. This oral medication effectivelystops T-cells from attacking the myelin sheaths that cover nerve fibers.8. Exhaled nitric oxide (NO) breath analysis for diagnosing asthma:A new hand-held diagnostic testing device measures a patient’s levelof exhaled NO, which is a biomarker for asthma. Monitoring NO levelsallows doctors to more accurately tailor treatment strategies.7. Transoral gastroplasty, or TOGA:A new experimental weight-loss option for obese patients who wantto lose weight and improve their health without undergoing major surgery.This “scar-less” procedure represents a significant improvement inminimally-invasive bariatric surgery and losses approaching 40 percentof excess body weight can be expected within a year.6. Telehealth monitoring for heart failure patients:Miniature implantable monitors to measure pulmonary artery pressuredaily and at-home devices to monitor weight, heart rate and blood pressureof heart failure patients allow doctors to adjust medication quickly,improving patient outcomes and quality of life, while reducing re-hospitalizations.5. Hepatitis C protease-inhibiting drugs:Two drugs awaiting FDA approval treat hepatitis C using protease inhibitors,which work by blocking a key enzyme that viruses need to copythemselves and proliferate. In clinical trials, cure rates for the proteaseinhibitors are higher than current hepatitis C treatments, with fewer sideeffects.4. JUPITER study and statins for healthy individuals:The JUPITER (Justification for the Use of Statins in Primary Prevention: anIntervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin) trial pointed out for the firsttime that many seemingly healthy people are at higher risk for heartdisease than previously thought, suggesting that statins should be prescribedeven to people with low LDL (bad cholesterol), if they have highC-reactive protein levels.3. First therapeutic cancer vaccine approved by the FDA:While not a cure for prostate cancer, sipuleucel-T is the first cancer vaccineto receive FDA approval. Prescribed to men with advanced prostatecancer, the drug coaxes their own immune systems into attacking andremoving the cancer, reducing the risk of death by 24 percent comparedto placebo.2. Anti-CTLA-4 drug (ipilimumab), a targeted T-cell antibody formetastatic melanoma:The effectiveness of ipilimumab in treating melanoma confirms the roleof immunotherapy as an effective treatment. In patients with advancedstage III or IV melanoma, 23 percent were still alive after two yearscompared to 14 percent of patients who received standard treatment.1. New molecular imaging biomarker for early detection of Alzheimer’sdisease:Currently, positive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is only possible upon autopsy.But a radioactive molecular imaging compound called AV-45 anda PET scan can allow doctors to “see” inside patients’ brains to detectbeta-amyloid plaques, the tell-tale signature of Alzheimer’s.“The Top 10 list reflects the place of Clinic physicians as arbiters of innovation.It goes all over the world, usually with a forward of an emailcommending the recipient that if the technology is important to ClevelandClinic it should be important to you,” said Christopher Coburn, ExecutiveDirector, Innovations, the Cleveland Clinic’s corporate venturing arm.5
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