Eyeworld

"It's a huge center with almost every single gadget and ophthalmic instrument that you can imagine … The system is made to be efficient, and there are a lot of support per- sonnel," Dr. Behrens said. Additionally, care is completely paid for by the Saudi government. "We use the latest technology and don't have to worry about insurance or covering costs. This includes re- fractive surgery," he said. The official language of the hos- pital is English and, aside from the difference in patient volume, physi- cians might not see many differ- ences in patient care. "Working in an American hospital and coming here, you won't find much differ- ence in terms of logistics and how exams are run," Dr. Behrens said. "We are accredited by Joint Commis- sion International, so all of the stan- dards are the same as in the U.S." However, an American coming to KKESH might be surprised by the complexity of some disease cases seen at the hospital and some pathology that is more common in Saudi Arabia. "Keratoconus is com- mon here, and you don't see that as often in the U.S.," Dr. Behrens said. "We also see an overwhelming pathology for diabetic retinopathy compared with macular degenera- EW Ophthalmology Business 45 July 2011 One of the 15 operating rooms. Each room has a flat screen mounted next to the surgical site so that observers can see what the surgeon is viewing under the microscope—in real time— for teaching purposes Source: Ashley Behrens, M.D. continued on page 48 tion. Here the major cause of blind- ness is diabetic retinopathy." Despite the dry environment, Dr. Behrens said that surprisingly, dry eye is not seen as often—or at least, patients do not complain about it as much. Collaboration details The main goals of the partnership are to strengthen patient care, re- search, and teaching between the two facilities, Dr. Behrens said. To that end, seven faculty members from Wilmer are working onsite at KKESH within various subspecialties for 5 years, with a possibility to ex- tend their commitment to 10 years. Jonathan Song, M.D., chief of pedi- atric ophthalmology, KKESH Wilmer, is one of the seven Wilmer faculty members working at KKESH. "KKESH's tremendous resources and unique referral base throughout the Gulf countries make it a wonder- ful opportunity for someone like me who is interested in international eyecare," said Dr. Song, who has done surgical and teaching trips in countries such as Malaysia, India, Ecuador, and Syria. "With Hopkins faculty being physically here, we can evaluate firsthand the strengths of KKESH as well as identify areas that we can enhance … The goal is to maintain its leadership position in the Gulf countries and catapult it to worldwide recognition and leader- ship in ophthalmology." Research collaboration between KKESH and Wilmer will work in a number of ways, according to Deepak Edward, M.D., director of research, KKESH Wilmer, who re- cently moved to Riyadh. Some research projects will focus on patient care issues specific to the Middle East or projects that require a larger number of patients, the latter of which will be easier to obtain at a large facility like KKESH, Dr. Edward said. Planned projects in- clude research into diabetic retinopathy—diabetes affects 25% of the population, Dr. Edward said. A pediatric ophthalmology-focused project will involve epidemiology and genetic links and treatments for eZine July 2011 www.OphthalmologyBusiness.org Watch for these great stories... The ethical ophthalmologist: Common ethical dilemmas in clinical practice Practice guidelines: Limited liability protection Marketing your ophthalmology practice: Reason no. 237 for why apps are cool The challenge of recruitment The pros of patient reported outcomes How to really be a maverick ophthalmologist

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