Doha, February 15 (QNA) - The Ministry of Public Health announced that five Qatar hospitals have been ranked among the world's top 250 academic medical centers, according to a new study undertaken by Brand Finance, a United Kingdom-based world-leading brand valuation consultancy.

The top 250 list included the Rumailah Hospital at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), which opened in 1957, Hamad General Hospital at HMC, which opened in 1982, the National Center for Cancer Care and Research at HMC, which opened in 2004, the Heart Hospital at HMC, opened in 2011, and Sidra Medicine, which opened in 2018.

Two HMC-affiliated hospitals achieved top 100 rankings. The National Center for Cancer Care and Research at 60th place and Hamad General Hospital at 63rd place.

With five hospitals in the top 250, Qatar has the highest number of hospitals out of all the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

The first-of-its-kind research study surveyed 2,500 leading healthcare professionals across the world to build a peer-driven analysis of the performance of the world's leading academic medical center hospitals.

Commenting on the significance of the study, HE Minister of Public Health Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari said, "having five Qatar hospitals ranked among the world's top 250 academic medical centers is an incredible achievement and highlights the commitment of Qatar's health sector to a deliver excellent care to our patients, on par with the world's very best hospitals. I congratulate the healthcare teams at all five hospitals for this remarkable accomplishment." "In recent years, HMC and Sidra Medicine have worked hard to implement the academic medical center model into their hospitals, combining patient care, medical research, and education to achieve the best outcomes and experience for our patients," added HE Dr. Al Kuwari.

In 2016, HMC's commitment to the academic medical center model was rewarded through the significant distinction of becoming the first healthcare system across the globe to have all its hospitals accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI) under the Academic Medical Center accreditation program, with re-accreditation coming in 2019.

Sidra Medicine is a state-of-the-art facility committed to providing women and children in Qatar with world-class tertiary healthcare services. The hospital is committed to the development of dynamic research and education environment in Qatar through the development of strong partnerships with leading institutions around the world.

Sidra Medicine was awarded the prestigious JCI Academic Medical Center accreditation in 2020, following an extensive evaluation of its clinical, research, and education programs.

JCI accreditation is seen as the gold standard for the accreditation of hospitals worldwide and requires strict patient safety and quality improvement standards to be met before accreditation is granted.

(QNA)