By Mehak Malik
Dr. Huda Abdulla Al Saleh is a leader who has served women’s healthcare with precision, ethics, and an unwavering focus on patient safety, as the Corporate Lead for Women’s Services at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and the Executive Director of Quality and Patient Safety at the Women’s Wellness and Research Center under HMC. She oversees large-scale programs that impact patient outcomes and healthcare quality across the region. With over two decades of experience as a senior consultant, obstetrician-gynecologist, and healthcare executive, she has consistently shaped healthcare delivery at scale, balancing responsibility, innovation, and ethical standards.
As Artificial Intelligence is reshaping industries worldwide, healthcare is no exception. From predictive analytics to smarter decision-making, AI is rapidly redefining how care can be delivered at scale. For Dr. Huda, this shift signaled an opportunity, not to follow a trend, but to lead it responsibly. Her journey took a defining turn when she chose to expand her expertise through the Certificate Program in AI Business Strategy from Johns Hopkins University, equipping herself to integrate AI-driven strategies into healthcare systems in ways that strengthen operational efficiency while keeping patient-centered care at the core.
“In my role, I lead large-scale quality, safety, and innovation programs across women’s services. I joined the AI Business Strategy program to strengthen my leadership journey at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and strategy."
Strengthening Leadership Through Purposeful AI Adoption
Dr. Huda’s professional foundation is shaped by years of clinical expertise and executive leadership. She holds two Master’s degrees in Healthcare Management and Healthcare Ethics and Law from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and is an IHI Fellow and Planetree leader. At the time she enrolled in the Certificate Program in AI Business Strategy, she was already leading corporate-level women’s health services and driving digital transformation across quality, risk management, and patient safety.
Her decision to join the program was not about changing direction, but about strengthening the leadership capabilities she already carried. “My motivation was to bridge healthcare leadership with an AI-driven strategy,” she explains. “I wanted to design, evaluate, and implement AI business solutions, both in clinical and non-clinical domains- that can improve safety, efficiency, and patient-centered outcomes.”
The program aligned closely with her responsibilities and future vision, giving her a structured and strategic approach to integrating AI into organizational planning and governance with clarity and purpose.
Inside the Program That Reshaped Her Thinking
The program experience, for Dr. Huda, was engaging, structured, and practical. What stood out was the richness of the real-world case studies and the depth of faculty expertise. Every project allowed her to apply concepts directly to healthcare.
“The content was very engaging, structured, and practical,” she shares. “The real-world case studies and projects allowed me to apply concepts directly to healthcare.”
She also valued the mentorship and interactive sessions that pushed her to think critically and strategically. Alongside this, the program office supported her throughout the journey and ensured smooth progress at every stage.
Through the program, she gained the ability to translate AI concepts into strategic business value, along with skills in evaluating AI tools and platforms for scalability and governance. She also developed a strong understanding of implementation frameworks such as ROAD and CRISP DM, alongside strategic insight into data, ethics, risk, and change management in AI adoption.
Most importantly, she gained hands-on experience in applying AI to healthcare use cases such as risk stratification, predictive analytics, and resource optimization.
Bridging Medicine and AI for Better Care
The career impact of the program was immediate and deeply aligned with her leadership responsibilities. The program elevated her ability to lead AI-enabled transformation in healthcare and strengthened her credibility as a leader bridging medicine, quality, and AI strategy.
“I am now integrating AI projects into women’s health services in Qatar,” she shares. These include maternal risk stratification dashboards and AI-based triage systems, with a roadmap for broader organizational adoption.
What began as a desire to strengthen strategic understanding became a real shift in how innovation could be led inside healthcare systems.
A Journey Guided by Purpose and Precision
Dr. Huda’s journey through the Certificate Program in AI Business Strategy is a story of alignment between intent and impact. She did not step into the program seeking change for the sake of change. She stepped in seeking clarity, governance, and the ability to make informed strategic decisions in a space where every outcome matters.
Her story reflects what becomes possible when leadership, learning, and responsibility move in the same direction. From leading women’s health services and patient safety at scale to translating AI into structured business value, her journey shows how learning becomes most powerful when it serves a purpose that is deeply personal and profoundly professional.
