Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC), a flagship hospital in the UAE for serious and complex care and a subsidiary of PureHealth, has launched an integrated multidisciplinary lupus clinic, introducing a coordinated, patient-centred model of care designed to simplify and enhance the treatment journey for individuals living with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Instead of navigating multiple referrals and appointments across different specialties over several weeks or months, the new clinic enables patients to be assessed by a multidisciplinary team of specialists together, in a single visit model.
Rheumatologists, nephrologists, dermatologists, neurologists, haematologists and other specialists evaluate patients together, developing a coordinated treatment plan during the same visit. Patients also benefit from pharmacy services, psychological support and other specialised services, ensuring comprehensive care throughout every stage of their treatment journey.
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that predominantly affects women between the ages of 15 and 45 and can impact multiple organs, including the joints, skin, kidneys, brain and cardiovascular system.
According to the World Lupus Federation, approximately 90 per cent of people living with lupus are women. A 2023 study estimated that around 16,500 people in the UAE are living with lupus. Because lupus can affect multiple organs and often resembles other conditions, patients may experience delays before receiving a diagnosis and coordinated treatment.
Given the significant impact of lupus on women during their reproductive years, a key feature of the clinic is its comprehensive support for women living with lupus who are planning a family. Through a multidisciplinary model that brings together rheumatology, obstetrics and haematology, patients in the UAE can receive specialised pregnancy planning, maternal-foetal monitoring and blood clot management, ensuring coordinated care throughout pregnancy.
Dr Abdulqader Almessabi, Chief Medical Officer at SSMC, said: “For many patients, lupus requires lifelong care from multiple specialists. At SSMC, our goal is to provide a coordinated model that puts the patient at the centre of every decision. The new clinic reflects our commitment to delivering integrated, patient-centred care that simplifies the patient journey, strengthens collaboration between specialties and ultimately enables patients to receive faster, more coordinated and more personalised care, which aligns with our broader commitment to advancing access to autoimmune care in Abu Dhabi.”
Despite being a single disease, lupus can affect multiple organs, including the skin, kidneys, heart and nervous system, often requiring input from several specialists throughout a patient's care journey. Accurate diagnosis often requires extensive investigations, including specialised blood tests and, in some cases, skin or kidney biopsies. Through close collaboration among specialists, the clinic supports timely diagnosis and early intervention, helping reduce the risk of long-term organ damage and disease progression.
Dr Mumtaz Khan, Consultant and Chair of the Rheumatology Division at SSMC, said: “Many patients with lupus spend years searching for answers before they receive a diagnosis or a coordinated treatment plan. In our combined clinic, they are seen by their rheumatologist, dermatologist, nephrologist, haematologist and neurologist together, in the same room during the same visit, allowing the team to agree on a single, unified approach to diagnosis and treatment. This means faster, more informed decisions, earlier diagnosis and a profound difference to long-term outcomes.”
The Lupus Clinic marks an important step in SSMC's commitment to advancing specialised multidisciplinary care for patients with complex autoimmune diseases. By bringing together multiple specialties within a single coordinated model, the clinic aims to support earlier diagnosis, improve long-term outcomes and establish a new benchmark for integrated lupus care across Abu Dhabi, the UAE and the wider region, supported by ongoing research, education and clinical excellence.
