Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 25, 2022: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) recently held a workshop to discuss the future of healthcare delivery and the pivotal role of digital health and technology across the continuum of care.

His Excellency Awadh Seghayer Al Ketbi, Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority said in his opening address: “ Ensuring we create a complete digital health ecosystem across all healthcare sectors, from regulation to patient care, is in line with the vision of the Emirate and aligns with our strategic priority. Implementation and utilization of digital health has several benefits across the full spectrum of the health sector from clinicians to policy-makers. The primary focus must be on utilization of digital health to ensure  patients receive the highest-quality of personalized care.”

Al Ketbi highlighted that digital health must be designed to foster patient empowerment and patient-centricity.

Al Ketbi also discussed the importance of digital health in DHA’s overall strategic plan and the roadmap ahead to ensure the Emirate further strengthens its drive towards digitization in the health sector.

Dr. Mohammed Al Redha, Director of Health Informatics and Smart Health at the Dubai Health Authority said: “ The aim of this initiative,  is to better understand how we can focus on digital health when we plan future initiatives and strategies for the health sector. We already have key digital projects at the DHA and this initiative will provide a further impetus on how we plan, design and implement our digital health initiatives to benefit all stakeholders in the health sector particularly patients.”

Al Redha said that DHA is in the process of creating a single-digital file for every person in the Emirate as part of its ongoing Nabidh initiative. This means that every individual in the Emirate will have a single digital health file, eliminating the need to carry medical reports from one provider to another, ensuring doctors receive the patients’ complete medical history, allergy notifications and reports in one single digital file.

The  Nabidh initiative is linked to Ministry of Health and Prevention’s Riayati program. This means, in the future, every person in the UAE will have one unified  digital medical record.

The ambitious projects reflect the country’s drive towards digital health and transformation.

DHA’s Health Regulation Sector already has in place digital tools such as the online health licensing system known as Sheryan, which allows health professionals from around the world to apply for a license to practice in Dubai. Similarly, the health sector in the Emirate uses this online system to apply and renew a license. DHA’s medical complaints system is also an online system that offers convenience, faster resolution and efficiency.

The DHA’s Dubai Health Insurance Corporation has an  eClaim system that provides an overview of the eClaims and health data for the health sector in Dubai.

At the end of the workshop, DHA discussed ways to foster the Emirate’s digital health transformation drive.