Abu Dhabi, December 7, 2015 – The laboratory of Healthpoint Hospital, managed by the National Reference Laboratory both part of Mubadala’s network of world-class healthcare providers set up to meet the specific healthcare needs of Abu Dhabi, has received the prestigious College of American Pathologists (CAP) accreditation following an onsite inspection of its policies and procedures.
Patients of Healthpoint Hospital’s over 15 outpatient clinics and inpatient disciplines – including plastic, cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, orthopedics and spine care – will benefit directly from National Reference Laboratory’s elevated standards of pathology processing and reporting, as National Reference Laboratory’s lab is fully integrated with Healthpoint Hospital’s e-records management system.
“Providing CAP-accredited pathology services through the National Reference Laboratory enhances the already stellar world-class care available to Healthpoint patients,” said Dr. Nader Darwich, Medical Director at Healthpoint. “By hosting this laboratory, we are able to provide accurate diagnoses more quickly on site and enable close cooperation between clinical teams and physicians, which is at the heart of our ethos of comprehensive patient-centric care, rooted in evidence-based medicine.”
Suhail Al Ansari, Executive Director, Mubadala Healthcare and Chairman of Healthpoint and National Reference Laboratory added,
“The work between National Reference Laboratory and Healthpoint is an excellent example of how our network is coming together in a collaborative manner to ensure patients are being treated in a holistic manner right here in Abu Dhabi, further reducing the need for them to travel abroad for complex and critical care. The CAP accreditation is a testament to the world-class, innovative solutions being put in place to improve patient and clinical experience by these two organizations.”
NRL Quality Assurance Expertise and Lab Management
National Reference Laboratory was created in 2010 by Mubadala in partnership with Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings (LabCorp®), the world’s leading healthcare diagnostics company and operator of one of the world’s largest and most experienced clinical laboratory networks. With a service menu of more than 5,000 tests, the National Reference Laboratory offers the widest test range in the region.
National Reference Laboratory owns two laboratories in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and manages the laboratory of Healthpoint Hospital in Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi, as well as the laboratories of Imperial College London Diabetes Centre in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. In partnership with Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, National Reference Laboratory manages the technical component of the joint Anatomic Pathology laboratory and is responsible for all Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi laboratory referral testing.
National Reference Laboratory received the CAP accreditation for both the Dubai and Abu Dhabi laboratories in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Healthpoint Hospital is the third laboratory site to be accredited by CAP in the National Reference Laboratory network. National Reference Laboratory is in the process of preparing three additional laboratories for the CAP accreditation by Q2 of 2016, therefore striving to become one of the largest networks of CAP-accredited laboratories in the Middle East.
The importance of the CAP accreditation
The College of American Pathologists (CAP) Laboratory Accreditation program is a worldwide leader in laboratory quality assurance, serving as the gold standard in laboratory accreditation for more than 50 years. CAP works to promote accountable, high quality and cost effective patient care. The goal of the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program is to increase the quality of pathology and laboratory services, which will in turn improve patient safety through the use of education, setting standards for service, and ensuring laboratories meet or exceed regulatory requirements. The CAP program relies on strict requirements in addition to providing laboratory personnel with guidance through the use of checklist standards that will facilitate the adoption of best practices in laboratory medicine.
”We are very proud to be able to position National Reference Laboratory as a leader in laboratory quality assurance in the region. In addition to our in-house experts, we benefit from the experience and expertise of US-based LabCorp, a leading healthcare diagnostics company committed to delivering world-class diagnostics,” said Abdul Hamid Oubeisi, CEO of National Reference Laboratory. “It is very important for healthcare professionals, and the system as a whole, to be able to base diagnoses on high-quality laboratory results provided by CAP-accredited laboratories. This is how we raise the standard-of-care and improve the overall healthcare system.”
About National Reference Laboratory:
National Reference Laboratory (NRL) is a Mubadala Healthcare initiative, created in partnership with and operated by Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp), one of the world’s largest and most experienced clinical laboratory operators. NRL aims to increase the spectrum, coverage and overall efficiency of laboratory testing, and implement international best practice reference laboratory testing processes. NRL is committed to driving improvement in the quality standards of medical diagnostic testing in the region by investing in the latest technologies and acting as a trusted resource for healthcare providers.
NRL has laboratories based in Abu Dhabi located in the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the Laboratory Complex of Dubai Science Park. Together, they comprise 32,000 square feet of laboratory space with both standard and advanced testing capabilities, offering healthcare providers in the region a one-stop shop for all of their medical diagnostic testing needs.
NRL’s Abu Dhabi facility is CAP (College of American Pathologists) Accredited whilst the Dubai facility boasts both the CAP and ISO 15189 Accreditations.
NRL manages the laboratory of Healthpoint Hospital in Abu Dhabi as well as the laboratories of Imperial College London Diabetes Centre in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. In partnership with Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD), NRL manages the technical component of the joint Anatomic Pathology laboratory and is responsible for all CCAD laboratory referral testing.
About Healthpoint Hospital:
Healthpoint Hospital, a Mubadala Company, is a fully integrated, world-class, multi-specialty hospital located in Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi. Bringing a wide range of outpatient and inpatient services to Abu Dhabi, Healthpoint is helping to address some of the Emirate’s most pressing healthcare needs, reducing local patients’ needs to travel abroad for world-class care.
Healthpoint Hospital currently offers cardiology, cosmetic and plastic surgery, diagnostic imaging, dentistry (including oral surgery, orthodontics and pediatric dentistry), dermatology, ENT, family medicine, gastroenterology (including endoscopy), general surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, podiatry, respiratory and sleep medicine, rheumatology, urology and endourology, and vascular surgery.
Healthpoint Hospital is also the flagship home to Abu Dhabi Knee & Sports Medicine Centre, offering orthopedic medicine and endoprosthetics, and Wooridul Spine Centre, pioneers in minimally-invasive spine surgery. Coupled with approximately 1,000 square meters of physiotherapy and rehabilitation areas, including female-only space, Healthpoint Hospital offers one of the most comprehensive orthopedic, spine and physiotherapy centers in Abu Dhabi.
Healthpoint Hospital’s coordinated care model brings together teams of physicians and specialists to address complex medical conditions. This innovative and efficient model minimizes a patient’s need to seek multiple opinions from physicians and specialists, resulting in a highly patient-centric and multi-disciplinary approach to diagnosis, treatment and disease management.
By incorporating multiple specialties into one convenient location, Healthpoint Hospital aims to provide the highest quality of care, all in one place. Healthpoint Hospital accepts medical visits from primary to tertiary, including everything from preventative care, diagnosis and treatment, to post-operation follow-ups.
About Mubadala
Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala) is a catalyst for the economic diversification of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The company’s commercial strategy is built on the management of long-term, capital-intensive, investments that deliver not only strong financial returns but tangible social benefits for the people of Abu Dhabi. In doing so Mubadala is expanding the economic base of the Emirate and in turn significantly contributing to the growth and diversification of the Abu Dhabi economy.
As a business unit of Mubadala Development Company, Mubadala Healthcare is playing an instrumental role in the creation of a thriving healthcare sector for the Emirate. By establishing partnerships with renowned international medical institutions, it is actively investing to develop healthcare services that provide patients with world-class treatment in their home country. Mubadala Healthcare evaluates potential projects both on their likely commercial returns as well as on their socio-economic impact. It aims to establish sustainable businesses, build regional capability and stimulate the overall development of the sector. The first priority has been to address the region’s most pressing healthcare needs through the creation of specialist healthcare facilities. In collaboration with medical organizations such as Johns Hopkins Medicine International, Imperial College London and Cleveland Clinic, the goal is to bring the highest standards of clinical expertise to the region and reduce the need for patients to travel abroad for treatment.
