Is ongoing trend for treatment abroad affecting UAE's health tourism drive?

Dubai - Medical tourism revenues in Dubai hit Dh1 billion in the first half of 2015.

The UAE government is putting huge focus on medical tourism in Dubai, but are locals confident enough in the healthcare system here?
Some recent medical cases may prove doubts still exist.
On October 4, an Emirati soldier succumbed to injuries he received while serving with the UAE Armed Forces as part of Operation ‘Restoring Hope’. He was being treated at a hospital in German.
Back in March, a 3-year-old Emirati boy received serious burns after an Indonesian maid allegedly poured acid on him. He too received treatment in Germany.
So, is the decision by locals to opt for treatments abroad affecting the medical tourism drive here?
“Absolutely not,” Linda Abdullah Ali, head of Medical Tourism Office at Dubai Health Authority (DHA) told Khaleej Times at the International Medical Travel Exhibition & Conference (IMTEC) in Dubai on Wednesday.
“Our local patients do not leave for everything, they leave for minor surgeries and very specialised treatments. Local patients only opt to go abroad if the treatment or surgery does not exist here. This is a very low number of patients. Emiratis stay here because we look after them.”
So what is the UAE’s biggest appeal?
According to Dr Layla, it's transparency.
“We are very transparent. If something goes wrong for the patient, they know where to go. That is not to say things do go wrong though.”
She said the DHA will “shortly” be launching its e-invetsigation portal where medical tourists can go online and talk to the healthcare committee regarding complaints or concerns.
In conjunction with this, a ‘Patient Bill on Rights’ will be released to make patients aware of their rights when being treated here.
There is no doubt the healthcare industry is burgeoning here. Medical tourism revenues in Dubai hit Dh1 billion in the first half of 2015.
The number of medical tourists hit 256,097 in the same period, but these figures only relate to patients who visited 16 of the 30 hospitals licensed by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA). By the end of the year, this figure is expected to double.
Dubai Healthcare Authority’s (DHA) Director of Healthcare Regulations, Dr Layla Mohamed Al Marzouqi, said the target of 500,000 medical tourists by 2020 is more than achievable.
“Trends suggest that we will reach that number even before 2020.”
The real focus now is on quality and service, she said, and there is a real need to build human resources.
Globally, there is a shortage of quality healthcare professionals. To attract more medical tourists, the best physicians need to be brought in.
“Every day, between 150 and 200 healthcare professionals apply to work within the DHA. These are international professionals from the US, Europe, all over. This proves that people want to come here.”
According to Dr Al Marzouqi, specialist orthopaedic care is the most profitable area when it comes to medical tourism here.
And as Dubai Government continues to lay down the right infrastructure to support the future of medical tourism, plastic and cosmetic surgery, and wellness tourism proves to be the most popular among tourists.
33 per cent of medical tourists are from Asia, 27 per cent from Europe, 23 per cent from GCC and the remaining from Africa.
Inaugurating IMTEC 2015, Humaid Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority said the prestigious status that Dubai enjoys internationally has “paved the way for a better health future.”
The event was attended by a large number of officials, experts and specialists from the United Arab Emirates with participation from 84 countries and 74 local and foreign companies. The event concludes today.
 kelly@khaleejtimes.com

Locals confident with UAE healthcare, but Germany remains popular alternative When it comes to UAE locals seeking healthcare abroad, Germany and the US have always been the desitination of choice. But with the UAE now cementing itself on the medical tourism map, the number of those opting to go abroad is low. Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of IMTEC 2015, Dubai-based, Warmund von Massenbach, GCC Regional Director for Premier Healthcare Germany, said Arab nationals fly to Germany for medical treatment because of its high ranking in terms of quality healthcare. “The patients we treat usually incorporate their treatment with a family holiday. We see hundreds of patients, not thousands, and that’s because the UAE has a very good reputation for medical tourism now. It is continually strengthening.” Supporting Linda Abdullah Ali’s remark that Emiratis are confident in being treated locally, Massenbach said Premier Healthcare Germany tends to treat patients for specialised surgeries only. ”When it comes to Emirati medical tourists, we mainly treat patients for oncology or spinal surgeries. But the majority of cases we get from the UAE are because the treatment does not yet exist in Dubai.” However, Germany still remains the destination of choice for GCC tourists seeking medical treatment abroad and this has led to the increase of medical tourism facilitator companies like Premier Healthcare Germany, opening up offices in Dubai, to cater to their demand. “Being present in the region is a big step forward for our company, as it enables us to offer better service to our clients. We want to be closer to our Arab patients and work closely with local and German doctors.”