Plan for 2020 UK Launch Extends Cleveland Clinic’s Global Presence

Cleveland Clinic is expanding its international presence to further the health system’s mission to provide world class care to all patients — no matter where they live. Cleveland Clinic’s international commitment began years ago when patients started traveling from all over the world to receive high-quality care from its team of highly specialized medical experts in Cleveland.

As the need for this type of care grew, so did Cleveland Clinic’s footprint. The first international hub opened its doors a decade ago in Toronto, offering both publicly funded and private services in an outpatient setting. In March 2015, the launch of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, a 364-bed hospital offering 13 floors of critical and acute care services, extended the group’s reach into the Middle East. Since opening, the facility has tripled its capacity, recording more than 337,000 patient encounters last year, including 285,000 outpatient visits, more than 39,000 emergency visits, 5,400 inpatient admissions and more than 9,200 surgical cases.

Cleveland Clinic London will be opening with an outpatient medical facility in 2020 and the inpatient hospital in early 2021. The 200-bed hospital will specialize in cardiology, gastroenterology, neuroscience and orthopedics, as well as offering more than a dozen other subspecialties at the nearby medical office space.

“The continued international expansion is intended to further our mission of education, research and clinical excellence,” says William Peacock, Chief Operations Officer for Cleveland Clinic and faculty for Cleveland Clinic’s Global Executive Education programs. “We believe that by sharing best practices, innovative techniques and patient-centered care, we can improve healthcare around the world.”

A national and global footprint

Known for innovative treatments and patient experience, Cleveland Clinic’s integrated healthcare network spans 19 U.S. states, including a facility in Nevada that focuses on brain health and a hospital in Florida. The latter facility has a sizeable contingent of Spanish-speaking staff and treats many patients from Latin America and the Caribbean. Meanwhile, patients in emerging markets such as China and India can access Cleveland Clinic through a dedicated network of in-country offices and representatives on the ground.

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has emerged as a regional center for medical innovation and education, forming partnerships with major academic and research institutions within the United Arab Emirates. Earlier this year, it launched a locally based internship program to nurture the next generation of Emirati caregivers, while regional firsts at its Heart & Vascular Institute have included a full heart transplant, the implantation of a leadless pacemaker, an ablation procedure performed with zero fluoroscopy exposure and the introduction of a comprehensive remote monitoring program for patients with cardiac implants.

In Shanghai, Cleveland Clinic has forged a relationship with a third-party healthcare provider that is building a hospital and will share best practices with its Chinese counterparts.

Closer to home, Cleveland Clinic Canada works with the country’s Ministry of Health and Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN), composed of the University of Toronto and 13 affiliated hospitals, to boost treatment standards and build infrastructure to support the country’s publicly funded healthcare system.

“Cleveland Clinic’s international activities have influenced other countries in terms of healthcare standards and treatment outcomes,” Peacock adds. “Our reputation for physician-led, patient-centric care in the United States stretches back almost a century, and we are now keen to extend our expertise to patients in new markets across the world and build a truly global network.”

Advances in telemedicine, such as video consultations, and health information technology have boosted the group’s overseas operations, enabling U.S.-based physicians to share their world-class expertise with the global medical community.

Such arrangements have a transformational effect on healthcare in emerging economies, and it’s not just the patients who benefit.

“This is an exciting time for our organization,” Peacock says. “We have had the opportunity to help so many more people, and we look forward to improving the lives of all the patients we serve.”