Better bedside manner helps patients heal



The UAE is blessed with world-class medical facilities. But the human aspect of medical care, as The National reported yesterday, can sometimes be more complex to navigate. With people of so many different cultures living together, there are often communication problems between doctors and patients, with possible life-threatening consequences. Different cultures have different customs and expectations, which need to be understood and correctly interpreted by physicians.

Some doctors can be abrupt or aloof, not giving patients enough information at what can be a bewildering and frightening time.

This is not a one-way issue, however. Cultural matters also affect the way patients respond to doctors' questions. Explaining this point, Dr Janeta Atanassova, a Bulgarian gynaecologist, told this newspaper: "Arab patients don't say anything because they're afraid they're going to be judged since they've been brought up being told that this is something wrong. This makes it more difficult for us, because they may be withholding information that can help us with their diagnosis."

Patients may not understand why doctors are asking personal questions, or may demand relatives are in the room for examinations.

It is a serious problem: more than 60 per cent of the complaints accepted by the Dubai Health Authority last year involved communication failures. From this perspective, the suggestion mooted by senior health officials on creating an advocacy group that can help to bridge the gap between patients and decision-makers is welcome.

Patient advocates could better inform patients of their rights, while also helping hospitals understand how to provide better care.

As well as addressing the issue of communication, an effective way to tackle this situation could be to conduct orientation courses on different nationalities and cultures for doctors, which will go a long way in promoting understanding.

Such courses need not be long, but could be part of a doctor's training either in-country or part of the accreditation process for doctors who qualified abroad.

Medical treatment is so much more than medical care. The best doctors understand that a winning bedside manner can help patients feel comfortable, safe and heal better.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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