Dr. Bandar Al Knawy the CEO of National Guard Health Affairs and the President of King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences sponsored the Bioethics program entitled "Healthcare: As Perceived by Recipient and Provider" on the 2nd and 3rd of February 2010. This event was held at the Dr. Samir Bin Huraib auditorium in King Abdulaziz Medical City, NGHA. This even was organized by the NGHA in collaboration with King Abdullah International Medical Research Center and KSAU-HS with the participation of many doctors, headed by Dr. Abdullah Adlan, Dr. Sami Somali, Dr. Hala Al-Alem, Dr Ahmed Abdullatif and Dr. Abdul Majeed Abdul Karim.
The symposium was held to highlight the most significant aspects of jurisprudence, ethics, administration, research and information related to health care in the Kingdom.
In addition, it discussed the methods used to verify medical news, the principle of providing opportunities for opposing opinion exchange and dissemination of medical ethics-related mistakes and medical research. Furthermore, it dealt with plus media amplification, headline policies, the role of media leaders in educating journalists and how to build bridges of cooperation based on transparency between the medical professionals and the media.
The symposium also covered health care in the Kingdom. Dr. Abdullah Adlan addressed the subject of medicine, the media and the importance of their relationship. Participating in this session was His Excellency Dr. Abdul Aziz Khoja, the Minister of Culture and Information, Dr Mohammed Kazem, the Associate Dean in the College of Applied Medical Sciences KSAU-HS, and Professor Jamil Thiabi, editor-in-chief of Al Hayat newspaper, and Mr. Khalid Al Malik, editor-in-chief of Al Jazeera newspaper.
Dr. Khoja spoke about the weak cases presented on health and medical issues in the media without any solid sources. Not to mention the lack journalists specializing in medical and health related topics contributing in presenting correct and reliable point of views. Moreover, Mr. Khalid Al Malik supported to the Minister of Culture and Information on the importance of assigning a competent health official in every newspaper to ascertain the credibility of the published articles.
On the other hand, Mr. Jamil Thiabi, editor–in-chief of Al Hayat newspaper, agreed on the importance of forming medical consultation teams specialized in different areas to respond to what is being published in the media. He pointed out that having a spokesperson in medical institutions to clarifying and promote medical awareness is essential.
Furthermore, Dr. Mohammad Kazem added that he blames health institutions for not producing published materials that fulfill the purpose of spreading awareness among people. He also stated saying, “Initiatives that newspapers take to publish health articles and medical information are simply initiatives from newspapers themselves and not from health institutions." Furthermore, he assigned part of the blame of journalism losing its mission on officials in health institutions who seek to control the press, stressing that the medical sector doesn’t contribute in rehabilitating physicians when they make mistakes but blame the media which had, in essence, greatly helped to develop and positively support the medical sector in the Kingdom.
At the end of the symposium, Dr. Khoja received a plaque from Dr. Bandar Al Knawy the CEO of National Guard Health Affairs and the President of King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. The participants also received certificates of thanks and appreciation from the National Guard Health Affairs for partaking in this event.