For the second day, the Minister of Health H.E. Dr. Hilal Ali Al Sabti is listening and discussing the innovative ideas of health personnel at the Health Innovation Forum.

Head of the Forum organizing committee Dr. Yousef Al Washahi stated that most participants of the second day are of male and female doctors working in the health sector from MOH and other institutions. Today, around 40 physicians from across the Sultanate of Oman were selected to attend and present (15) initiatives.

He added that detailed presentations were made, whereby the participants discussed their initiatives and suggestions with His Excellency the Minister of Health.

Dr. Al Washahi said that this is the first edition of the Health Innovation Forum that is based on three key principles. The first of which is the importance of people in human development especially with regard to the health system. The second principle addresses participation of health cadres, while the third principle is innovation that concerns with presenting innovative solutions for the health system issues, and its current and future challenges.

He stressed that this is only the beginning of long new path concerned with innovation in health as a basic issue in the health system to be employed to serve the sector in the short and long term.

The Forum reviewed and discussed plenty of distinct initiatives.

For instance, Fahima Muhammad Al Harthi, Head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit at the Royal Hospital, presented her innovative idea on relieving childbirth pain through an environmentally friendly way. Her initiative was based on the priority of the environment and natural resources by adopting 2050 as a deadline for achieving zero carbon neutrality. The idea was to replace Entonox with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) as a form of pain relief in labor.

She aspires that her innovative initiative will contribute to reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and using modern echo-friendly technologies, in addition to reducing costs and promoting human health by using cleaner and easier-to-use technology.

Zakaria Al-Balushi presented his experience on the "smart sheet". He explained that the initiative predicts the likelihood of clinical ulcers suffered by the elderly and paralyzed persons by measuring body temperature from several places, as well as measuring the percentage of humidity in the event of ulcers. The sheet automatically pumps water or air to relieve pressure on the affected area.

Asma and Maisa Al Mujaini, Medicine student at Sultan Qaboos university spoke about their initiative that aims at cutting down appointments and waiting times at emergency departments, which will help in promoting healthcare efficiency, by designing “Jahez”, an electronic self-diagnosis system.

Furthermore, Dr. Ahmed Abuderaz, Intensive Care Consultant at Royal hospital reviewed his idea on Command & Control Center of ICU Beds that links various ICU departments in the Sultanate of Oman. This enables access to all patients’ files and identifies beds vacancy, giving priority based on patient level of risk, and transferring patients to referral hospitals according to patient needs.

Dr. Fakhria Al Hoqani, Family Medicine Specialist at Khodh Health Center and Dr. Mariam Al Kayumi, Family Medicine Specialist at SQUH and their team suggested the idea of Digital Health in Primary Care, which can be outlined by using a unified electronic Primary Care platform for booking appointments and receiving medications.

Notably, the Health Innovation Forum comes out of Ministry of Health vision in activating the role of the direct dialogue and the communication, and creating meaningful periodic meetings with all MOH staff of all categories and levels to open broader horizons of professional responsibility.