Dr. Arnaldo Espaillat values medical travel at HFAP accreditation
Dr. Arnaldo Espaillat valued medical travel as a developing industry that needs to be embraced by the public and private sector in the Dominican Republic.
The expert ophthalmologist spoke on January 23rd at the event in which the Espaillat Cabral Institute received the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP), the first Dominican health center, and first outside the United States, to accomplish it.
“It is the first HFAP accreditation of this type to an abroad center. Surely, a very important step for medical travel, which is currently booming and for Dominican patients who receive our services,” said Dr. Espaillat at the center’s headquarters in Santo Domingo.
He said that HFAP consolidates the institute as leaders in ophthalmological medical services and “will encourage medical travel to the Dominican Republic. The public and private sector need to embrace it for the industry to continue its scaling.”
By conferring accreditation, the HFAP certifies that the Espaillat Cabral satisfies all the guidelines of medical quality in regulatory and operational areas, which encompass best practices from maintenance processes and updating of medical equipment, infrastructure, practice guidelines and clinical protocols with evidence international scientific.
“We are proud members of the Dominican Health Tourism Association and the Medical Tourism Association, and we believe that we can help the Dominican Republic in becoming one of the top destinations in the region,” said Dr. Espaillat.
HFAP also checks clinical history, processes of sterilization and infection control, excellence in the operating room, confidentiality of personal data and diagnostic information and procedures, as well as postoperative monitoring.
Claudia Arvelo
“This is a recognition to quality services and marks a historic milestone for the health industry in the Dominican Republic”, said Claudia Arvelo, executive director of the institute.
The accreditation endorsed Espaillat Cabral Institute as a health center that meets the international standards required in the practice of medicine with a special focus on patient safety.
Arvelo said that they had to overcome a strict process of monitoring and auditing that included the adaptation and expansion of the infrastructure and that only the revision part of the plans took more than two years.
“The quality protocol lasts for years because it involves adapting processes to processes, in order to comply with all the requirements of the HFAP, which is the fourth in importance in the United States,” noted the executive at the event.
Who is Dr. Arnaldo Espaillat
Arnaldo Espaillat is a doctor of Medicine Cum Laude, from the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU), and graduated in February 1988.
Here is a brief list of Dr. Espaillat’s academic achievements and awards:
- Specialty in ophthalmology at Instituto Barraquer, Barcelona, Spain.
- Postgraduate Master in Vitreo-Retina-Choroidal Pathology. Barraquer University Institute.
- GLORY Certificate (Global Refractive Surgery Education Program) Basic and Advanced, International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS). Miami (FL), United States. July 1999.
- Medical Director of the Espaillat Cabral Institute, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, since 1997.
- President of the Dominican Society of Ophthalmology 2002-2003.
The MD is a founding member and served as president of the Dominican Association of Ophthalmic Centers from May 2014-February 2018.
In 2008 he received the International Ophthalmologist Education Award of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Three years later he gained the International Scholar Award.
He is the coeditor and coauthor of the books Cicafe: Cataract Surgery with Femtosecond Laser, and New Trends in Cataract Surgery, both published by Jaypee-Highlights Medical Publishers in 2016 and 2012, respectively.
Dr. Espaillat coauthored Diagnostic Images in Ophthalmology, by Espaxs Publishers, in 1998. In total, he has authored ten book chapters, 29 medical articles, and 199 national and international scientific conferences.
In 2017, he was selected to be on the Board of Plaza de la Salud General Hospital and participates as a member of the Dominican Society of Ophthalmology, the International Society of Refractive Surgery, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, among others.