Hamad General Hospital (HGH), a member of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), held a research forum last week at Hajar Auditorium to introduce the new hospital research committee members and discuss the HGH research process with clinicians across all specialties who are interested in research.
“The hospital-based research committee is one of the committees formed at all HMC hospitals in July 2015 and reports to HMC’s Medical Research Centre (MRC). This is our first meeting and we plan to hold the forum every six months,” noted Dr Abdulla al-Naimi, chairman, the HGH Research Committee.
Dr al-Naimi said, “The HGH Research Committee is responsible for reviewing, at the hospital level, applications to conduct research studies. The committee reviews applications in terms of meeting paperwork requirements, feasibility and integrity of the research effort. The hospital committee helps ensure that HMC’s research policies are observed and the rights of patients participating in the 
research are protected.”
HGH medical director Dr Yousuf al-Maslamani, who opened the meeting, praised the role played by the MRC in the establishment of the hospital committees, saying that this highlights HMC’s commitment to conducting high-quality medical research.
Prof Ibrahim Janahi, HMC’s executive director of research said the MRC will make every effort to strengthen the hospital committees, which support the development of high-quality research at HMC. “Research is important in creating the evidence base that can be used to support the development of new treatments and therapies, drive forward changes in clinical practice, and continue to improve patient outcomes,” he said.
During the forum, Dr Noora al-Kaabi, HGH Research Committee co-ordinator explained the process and the requirements that researchers must comply with to obtain approval to carry out their research studies.