In an exclusive interview, Dr. Khan discusses the hospital’s innovations, regional healthcare goals, and long-term vision for transforming care across the UAE and beyond
Burjeel Medical City is quickly becoming a pillar of excellence in complex tertiary and quaternary healthcare across the MENA region. Located in Abu Dhabi, the advanced medical campus is known for its specialized services, technological integration, and a firm commitment to sustainable healthcare delivery.
Burjeel Medical City is a flagship healthcare facility under the Burjeel Holdings umbrella. It serves as a referral center for highly complex and specialized treatments across the MENA region. The hospital is equipped with advanced surgical suites, robotic technologies, and a wide range of tertiary and quaternary care services (refers to highly specialized medical treatment, including advanced diagnostics, surgeries, and complex care for severe or rare health conditions), including oncology, orthopedics, neurology, and transplant medicine.
Under Dr. Mujtaba Ali Khan’s leadership, the hospital continues to focus on delivering advanced care with a patient-centric approach, while investing heavily in smart technologies and environmentally sustainable systems.
In an exclusive interview, Dr. Khan, CEO of Burjeel Medical City discusses the hospital’s innovations, regional healthcare goals, and long-term vision for transforming care across the UAE and beyond.
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The American Bazaar: Can you start by telling us everything readers should know about Burjeel Medical City?
Dr. Mujtaba Ali Khan: Burjeel Medical City is a tertiary, quaternary, very complex care medical facility that delivers care that no one else in the region is delivering. And we’re doing it with highly specialized physicians (and) technology, and we want to be the hub for this type of care throughout the region.
Can you also tell us a little about yourself and your background?
I am a physician by background, an internal medicine physician, but have been in healthcare administration for the past decade, as Chief Medical Officer in the U.S. of a large healthcare organization called Hospital Corporation of America. I came here about a year and a half ago.
What innovations in medical technology or patient experience are you most excited about at Burjeel Medical City?
The AI integration into the patient journey, especially alleviating the pressures that our physicians have, is very exciting. We’re integrating ambient listening and working to help with the coordination of patient care. The automated registration process is also being streamlined to be as touchless and painless as possible. Our broader goal is to create a smart hospital, an AI-enabled one.
Globally, healthcare systems are under pressure. What unique challenges and opportunities do you see in the UAE or MENA region?
This region is a nexus for so many people in the world. Right now, getting high-level, quality care is very challenging. We want to be able to provide that—not just here in the UAE, but regionally. People often travel to the U.S. or UK for treatment, but now they’ll be able to come here.
The challenges include cost, sustainability, and building trust in the market. But we have strategies in place to mitigate these challenges and elevate the regional healthcare standard.
Since you mentioned sustainability, how is Burjeel Medical City integrating sustainability into hospital operations without compromising patient care?
We look at the entire patient journey to identify where we’re wasting resources. Over the past year, we implemented a new electronic medical record system that has revolutionized patient management and reduced paper usage by 80%.
We’ve also reviewed our food management systems and reduced plastic usage by 10 to 15 tons over the past year. In terms of carbon emissions, we’ve achieved a reduction of 500 metric tons this past year. So sustainability is being implemented in real, measurable ways.
On a leadership level, what guides your vision for Burjeel Medical City’s growth and patient outcomes?
We want to create world-class centers of excellence in key service lines: musculoskeletal care, neurosurgery, transplant medicine, oncology. We want to be the forefront leader in cancer care in particular.
What’s your long-term hope for Burjeel Medical City—say, over the next 10 years?
I want us to be at the forefront of delivering healthcare in the region, not just in the UAE, but internationally. Why not be the MD Anderson of the region, or the Johns Hopkins of the region? I want people to be able to access world-class care right here, close to home.