Overview of the Internal Medicine Program
The Internal Medicine Program at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Medical Subspecialties Institute works to oversee patients’ general health and address a wide spectrum of medical conditions for any patient over the age of 14.
The highly dedicated program team works closely with patients, patients’ family members, subspecialists, and other Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi departments to provide high quality, Patients First care.
The internal medicine department is also responsible for the anticoagulation clinic, which employs clinical pharmacists trained in managing patients taking blood thinning drugs. It also collaborates with the Anesthesiology Institute to help with the pre-anesthesia testing (PAT) clinic, which tests and manages patients about to undergo surgery.
What We Treat
The Internal Medicine Program at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi manages both acute and chronic illnesses, as well as working with patients who may be dealing with several different diseases at the same time.
Specialists treat common problems of the eyes, ears, skin, nervous system, and reproductive organs, primarily on an outpatient basis. In addition, program physicians at the Internal Medicine Program help patients understand steps to improving their own wellness through disease prevention and the promotion of good physical and mental health.
The team also successfully treats a range of conditions that are highly prevalent in the Middle East, including:
- Diabetes: Condition in which blood sugar rises too high due to a problem with the hormone insulin.
- Heart and vascular disease: Disease of the blood vessels and the heart.
- Obesity: An excess of body fat that negatively affects the health of an individual.
- Asthma: A chronic disease that results in periodic inflammation of the lungs and the airways that makes it difficult for the individual to breathe.
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): A group of disorders that make it increasingly difficult for the individual to breathe.
- Renal insufficiency: A condition that results in poor kidney function caused by decreased blood flow to the organs.
- Thyroid and other endocrine-related disorders: Diseases that cause a variety of symptoms due to under- or over-functioning of the thyroid and/or other glands that control the release of hormones.
Diagnosis & Treatment with Internal Medicine
The methods used to diagnose diseases depend on a patient’s symptoms. During the initial evaluation, the physician performs a physical examination and takes a detailed medical and family history. The physician may also need to order additional tests before making a diagnosis and working with the patient to define a treatment plan.
Because the Internal Medicine Program team treats illnesses that may cross multiple medical disciplines, internal medicine physicians collaborate with various physicians across the Medical Subspecialties Institute and with other Institutes at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, including the Eye Institute, the Neurological Institute, and the Digestive Disease Institute.
Internal Medicine Program Caregivers
The Internal Medicine Program team at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Medical Subspecialties Institute is comprised of experienced, board-certified physicians and support staff. They work closely with a dedicated team of supporting caregivers in order to provide high-quality care to all patients. Caregivers involved in patient care for this program are:
- Internal medicine physicians
- Nurses
- Dietitians
- Pharmacists
- Nurse educators