Earlier this month, Sarah and I had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Fayad Al Dandashi, CEO of Tamer Healthcare, for an in-depth discussion on the drivers of innovation in healthcare, and his perspective on how the space is shaping up for the future. Dr. Fayad started his professional path as an entrepreneur, having founded two companies in biotech and healthcare. Building on his experience as a founder, which offered him access to the innings of the industry, Dr. Fayad moved to the public sector where he last served as Assistant Deputy Minister for Health Investment Development at the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia before joining Tamer Healthcare, the largest healthcare conglomerate in Saudi Arabia, which has recently acquired Mumzworld.

As we take a closer look at the space, some of the main themes underpinning the latter seem to be: 1) increase in consumer awareness, 2) interoperability, standardization, and integrability, 3) decentralization of care provision, 4) personalization in health and wellness.

By and large, the most crucial transformation that has occurred is a complete shift in mindset on how we view healthcare, years in the making, and now being materialized through reforms to regulations in the space and multiple regional initiatives to optimize access to, and quality of healthcare, as well as through the companies we invest in.

In our discussion with Dr. Fayad, he lays out the core principles driving healthcare forward in the region.