Dr. M Zakirul KARIM

Dr. M Zakirul KARIM has been working in corporate-for-profit hospitals; not-for-profit-community research hospital; and healthcare industry for more than 18 years. As an employed hospital executive, Dr. Zakirul lead major construction activities, service development activities and HIS system start-ups. He is particularly strong in the areas of operating systems design, green-field project management, implementation, maintenance, reengineering and evaluation. In these cases he was able to effectively turn-around healthcare operational and financial performance. His is committed to developing the human capital of an organization and reflects mentor/coach approach in his leadership style. He measures success in the professional and personal growth of the people within his organizations. By promoting a learning organization environment, Dr. Zakirul encourages people to develop their personal and professional character. He teaches the use of data and information to make sound management decisions and emphasizes the use of ‘Strategic Dialogue’ to promote critical-thinking in the organization. He assisted and led two hospitals in preparing for attaining initial accreditation by JCI [Joint Commission International, USA] hospital quality accreditation.

 

 

Dr M Zakirul Karim recently joined as the Senior Medical Adviser in command of Quality Assurance of Hanh Phuc International Hospital. He has extensive experienced in the healthcare Quality Assurance and Clinical Governance, Project Director of Hospital Accreditation, COO, Chief Executive Officer in Bangladesh and other countries. His job included general quality assurance, administration, planning and commissioning, teaching and mentoring, and project management in many Greenfield hospital projects in Bangladesh and Vietnam. Hanh Phuc International Hospital (Hanh Phuc) is Vietnam’s first Singapore standard hospital, commissioned by Thomson Medical group, Singapore. The 260 bedded Hanh Phuc aims to be the leading private healthcare provider for women and children in Vietnam and the region; providing a comprehensive range of quality services to women and children under one roof with personalized touch, and in a warm and friendly ambiance.

 

Dr. M Zakirul Karim was the CEO position of a super-specialty hospital and leads a team of 745 staff, in taking this brand new 320 beds corporate hospital in Bangladesh through hospital commissioning, as well as the day-to-day operations, clinical program development, managing P/L account, and planning for Joint Commission International accreditation. Earlier, he was the Chief Operating Officer of Ispahani Islamia Eye Institute and hospitals, and managed 4 hospitals under his leadership with 647 employees. He had the overall responsibility for the success of the management and operations of the entire hospitals through his combined expertise in the international healthcare industry and visionary strategic management. His extensive experience in healthcare governance, quality management, JCI accreditation and operations includes a healthcare career of 18 years in the emerging healthcare market and exceptionally successful in involving physicians for transforming ‘Core Management System’.

 

Fundamentally, he engages leaders, Board members and the organization in critical consideration of 'where they are today' and where they would like to be in the future. He assists leaders and the organization in planning and executing the actions required in moving from an “As Is” to a “Desired Future Condition” [DFC]. He always designs 'Core Management Systems Model' for the hospital, reflects a basic structure of five, highly interrelated systems. These systems are: the Service Delivery System; the Human Resources Management System; the Support Services System; the Administrative Management System; and, the Financial Management System. Thereafter, he develops a Gap-Bridge analysis, and tools for Action Planning that describes: What needs to change; Why that change is critical; How the change will be effected; Who will achieve the change; Who will be impacted by the change; When the change will be effected; Where the change will be effected; and the Cost of the change in terms of Time, Material, People, and Money (TMPM). 

 

In his global experience, he has seen that the very best healthcare organizations are customer-centric and provider-driven. The patient, while perhaps most important, isn’t the only customer. The term “customer” includes what he calls the Four Ps: Patients, Physicians, Public and Payers. He feels that providers aren’t just physicians. This term includes virtually everyone working in the hospital. It takes everyone to provide great ‘Customer Service’. At the same time, a hospital cannot meet its Mission if it has no Margin. Everyone working in the hospital must understand and demonstrate a commitment to solid financial performance with respect to revenue and expense. These are the fundamental principles of performance which are reflected in my leadership. He is a mentor-coach in his leadership style and this style works in contemporary hospitals because, when the day is done, healthcare professionals know what their roles and responsibilities are in organization and how they must perform. Given the chance, and a little structure, people will perform. Great leaders simply remind people of their own personal visions and align them with the organizations’. He simply facilitates people in getting to where they really want to go. 

 

Working internationally provided him with meaningful exposure to the global issues facing hospitals and health systems worldwide and the opportunity to apply his experience in a meaningful way. Dr Karim found that hospitals are challenged, internally and externally, in much the same way regardless of where they are located. Thus, he had the opportunity to gain much practical operational, strategic and opinionated experience during my venture in hospital business. He is as well representing Bangladesh in Phoenix Global Academic, USA. The mission statement of Phoenix Global Academic is “To create exceptional leaders, managers and staff professionals through practical education and training that produces measurable performance improvement results.”

 

Dr. Zakirul uses personally designed organizational development (OD) tools and those of highly regarded change agents and organizational development professionals in the industry to enhance organizational performance. More important, he works with and through the people of the organization to achieve mechanisms for continuous process improvement. His work achievement in International French hospital in Vietnam, and Apollo hospitals was recognizable. He is a regular writer in LinkedIn post on several healthcare issues mostly focus on the 21st century challenges that hospital will face in future and how to mitigate risk in the healthcare setting: https://vn.linkedin.com/in/dr-karim-m-zakirul-39b73a9.

 

Dr. Zakirul is a physician executive, and member of the American College of Health Care Executives, USA (ACHE). He holds an MBA in Management from The Royal Roads University, Canada and MPH in Hospital management from State University.