Prince Sultan Cardiac Center Al Hassa Achieves GHA's COVID-19 Certification of Conformance for Medical Travel

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Prince Sultan Cardiac Center Al Hassa (PSCCH) (https://www.pscch.med.sa/portal/en/), one of the premier cardiac centers in Saudi Arabia, is the first hospital in the Middle East to be awarded Global Healthcare Accreditation's Certification of Conformance with COVID-19 Guidelines for Medical Travel Programs (https://www.globalhealthcareaccreditation.com/certification-of-conformance-with-gha-covid-19-guidelines-for-medical-travel-programs). 

The Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA) Program for Medical Travel Services issued the free COVID-19 Guidelines (https://www.globalhealthcareaccreditation.com/gha-covid-19-guidelines) in early July of this year to assist organizations in the medical and health tourism industries seeking to mitigate the risk of coronavirus infection for both domestic and international traveling patients and their companions. The guidelines are unique in that they focus on the entire care continuum, including interactions with the healthcare organization, hotel, and ground transportation.

­Dr. Khalid ALKHAMEES, PSCCH's Chief Executive Officer stated, "As we adopted quality and patient safety practices in all of our services, we found in GHA's COVID-19 Certification of Conformance the advanced protocols and standards, from an ISQua recognized organization, to provide the highest quality services for traveling patients while maintaining full infection control measures during the full quantum of care. These COVID-19-specific standards helped us to ensure that we are providing our advanced cardiac care while simultaneously gaining the full trust of the patients and their families."

The Certification of Conformance (https://www.globalhealthcareaccreditation.com/certification-of-conformance-with-gha-covid-19-guidelines-for-medical-travel-programs) for hospitals and ambulatory centers is a three-year certification with annual reviews, which signals to medical travelers, referrers, and other payers that the organization has implemented the recommendations in the guidelines as a proactive risk mitigation strategy to ensure patient safety and well-being during and post-COVID-19.

According to Karen Timmons, Chief Executive Officer, Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA), "The COVID-19 Certification of Conformance demonstrates to patients, buyers, and other key stakeholders that a medical travel program's operational protocols, practices, and procedures have undergone an external review and reflect international best practices designed to keep traveling patients safe. One of the key objectives of the Certification of Conformance is to enhance transparency and encourage ongoing communications with patients, which is even more important during this challenging time, and which ultimately helps to increase patient trust in the organization. We congratulate Prince Sultan Cardiac Center Al Hassa as the first hospital in the Middle East to achieve GHA's Certification of Conformance and for its unwavering commitment to patient safety."

The Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA) COVID-19 Program for Medical Travel Services Guidelines are free and the Certification of Conformance is a process that is accomplished virtually and usually within a three to six week period of time. For more information about the Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA) program and/or the COVID-19 Guidelines for Medical Travel Programs reach us via email at [email protected] or call +1 561 228 4014.

About GHA
Founded in 2016, the Global Healthcare Accreditation for Medical Travel Services is the only accrediting body focused solely on medical travel services. GHA's international standards and professional norms for medical travel were developed in consultation with leading global experts in the industry, including providers, insurers, and employers committed to establishing best practices in medical tourism and health tourism, which support healthcare providers in validating quality and patient experience, increasing visibility, and implementing a sustainable business model for providers along the entire medical travel care continuum. GHA received ISQua's International Society for Quality in Health Care External Evaluation Association (IEEA) accreditation in 2019. To learn more about GHA, visit https://globalhealthcareaccreditation.com/.

About Prince Sultan Cardiac Center Al Hassa
Prince Sultan Cardiac Center Al Hassa is a referral center for all complex heart-related cases for adults and children in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and gulf countries. The center has approximately 660 staff including clinical and non-clinical under the Ministry of Health and Hospital Operations Program. The center provides a number of specialized clinical services including primary Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (Primary & Elective), Trans Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI), Pacemaker and devices Implantation and Electro-Physiology Study (EPS) and Ablation, Valve replacements/repairs, Total Arterial Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (off / on Cardiopulmonary Bypass), Structural Heart Disease Management (ASD/VSD/PDA -transcatheter closure) and All types of Neonatal and Paediatric Open Heart Surgeries and Left Ventricular Assist Devices. For more information, contact: +966135730000 or [email protected].

SOURCE Global Healthcare Accreditation