Agha Khan sets global standards tackling heart attacks
Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH, N) handling of heart attack cases has received international endorsement from the Joint Commission International (JCI) which certified the hospital for the second time since 2020.
Heart attacks are an emergency and require timely treatment. The cause is usually a blocked artery. For the best chances of survival, the condition should be recognized quickly, and the vessel unblocked promptly by a team of specialists.
The certification follows a Program audit conducted by the JCI in September 2023, as part of the 3 years’ review process that found the hospital system of quickly handling heart attack cases is of global standards giving AKUH, N credibility as the regional choice for medical tourism.
“Standardization of care ensures that every heart attack patient who comes to the hospital receives the same quality of care and on time, conforming to best practice,” added Dr Mohamed Jeilan, the hospital’s Director of Cardiac Services who is an interventional cardiologist.
“The standardized care is provided by a Heart Attack/Cardiologists team in a patient-centred setting by engaging patients and family members regularly for feedback that is used to improve the program for the benefit of our patients.”
Read also: Aga Khan University’s colorectal cancer research gets Sh112 million grant
Training consultants to offer best care
The hospital receives 20 per cent of patients from regional countries seeking specialized care. Rashid Khalani, CEO AKUH, Nairobi said people go to other parts of the world for medical attention especially India because either it’s cheaper or there is a trust issue.
Aga Khan says they are trying to build this trust by leveraging international accreditation, digitizing patient records and upscaling faculty while training new consultants to offer the best care and attract patients from the region.
“As far as Malawi, they can actually walk to South Africa, but they come to Kenya because we are giving confidence to the people that we have the human capacity in Kenya to treat those diseases, right?” Mr Khalani said.
Mr Khalani said the hospital is seeing an increasing number of patients from outside of Kenya, coming to seek healthcare, and between 15 to 20 per cent of their patients now are from regional countries, including Uganda, Congo, Rwanda, and South Sudan.
He said there is a huge opportunity for Kenya as a country, to make the country the hub of medical tourism, but then to achieve that people, technology, industrialization, consistency of care.
Mr Khalani said the inbound medical tourism into India five years ago was worth $6.7 to $7 billion five years back and if just 10 per cent of that comes to Kenya, the country will need six hospitals, like Aga Khan University Hospital.
