Building Bangladesh with World-Class Healthcare
Praava Health’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Simeen M. Akhtar is one of the key people assuring that Praava is always serving its patients with the highest world class quality of care at the cutting edge of leading medical care and technology. Below, she discusses how her experience is helping Praava be there for Bangladeshis when they need it the most.
My Story
Of course, my experience at Praava has been a culmination of my passion for taking care of others, my travels around the world, and my desire to build Bangladesh. After graduating from Dhaka Medical College, I accompanied my diplomat husband on his assignments abroad — from New York in 1981, Thailand in 1985, Washington DC in 1990, United Kingdom in 1992, Malaysia 1996, Spain 2001, Thailand & Cambodia 2003, and finally returning to Bangladesh in December 2008.
During these years in all these wonderful places, I had the opportunity to pursue my medical work, as well as build my expertise across additional degrees in Tropical Medicine (Mahidol University, Bangkok), MSc Nutrition (Kings College, UK), MPH (Mahidol University, Thailand), and Hospital Management (North South University, Dhaka).
Before joining Praava in 2017, I had been at ICDDRB, Dhaka Shishu Hospital, Panya Hospital (Thailand), Georgetown Medical Center (USA), Bangkok General Hospital, and finally Apollo Hospitals Dhaka (for 7+years).
Having the privilege of living all across the world allowed me to experience, learn from, and appreciate some of the best hospitals and clinics. I dreamed of one day working in such facilities in my home country of Bangladesh.
I first started my time at Praava as Senior Medical Advisor in March 2017, continued as Senior Medical Director in July 2017, and subsequently became CMO as of January 2021.
How I Found out About Praava
I had just completed my tenure in Apollo when a mutual friend introduced me to Sylvana in February 2017. The truly patient-centric Praava model was very attractive and I could relate to the need for such a change in our society. Sylvana was in her early days of building Praava, yet she shared a very clear vision with me of what Praava could and would be for our nation.
Why I Joined the Team
After hearing Sylvana’s goal of creating this primary healthcare center, it was clear to me how much our values aligned. Finally, an organization where empathetic doctors could give patients care held to the highest international standards! One where doctors take the time to patiently listen to patient concerns, be ethical in prescribing the right (and real) medications, and bridge together in-person and digital care. Learning that she envisioned Praava one day having a hub and many “spokes” — high-quality care centers across the country and even the region — inspired me. My time abroad showed me what Bangladesh had yet to achieve … and with Praava, I knew we could do that.
My Current Role and What My Team is Building
As Chief Medical Officer, I wear many hats across our operations. On one hand, our Medical Services (MS) team monitors and supports the heart of the clinical areas (i.e., the Family Health Professionals and the Visiting Specialists). This team has to work very closely with all our other departments, particularly IT, Marketing, Sales, etc.
Our Family Health Professionals include Family Medicine Doctors, Pediatricians, Gynecologists/ Obstetricians, Dentists, Ophthalmologists, Nurses, Medical Transcriptionists, Physiotherapists, Nutritionist and Counselors. This organization is constantly supported by the Medical Services team and their policies, protocols, clinical guidelines. Our Visiting Specialists come from a diverse range of specialties and are available both physically and remotely via telemedicine.
Hosting trainings is an important part of the MS team’s work, to ensure we are all up to date with the latest health care innovations around the world.
We have Continuing Medical Education (CMEs) to ensure knowledge-sharing is continuous. We also partner with international medical doctors, so that local Bangladeshis may seek an outside, second opinion if desired.
My Praava Experience
The last four years have been an extremely fascinating and fulfilling journey for me. Our Founder and CEO is very far-sighted and therefore we know that her vision will take Praava to a different level of care in Bangladesh. We look forward to new and exciting paths, always. While this keeps us on our toes and keeps us working more quickly and iteratively than we’ve done in past companies, we all still believe in our one vision. Each day is a new adventure; with so much constant innovation, medical discoveries, and challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, we must constantly keep up our pace.
I believe Praava will build a legacy, which the people of Bangladesh will benefit from in the many years ahead.
