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Nod likely for hospitals to hike service charges

The UAE Ministry of Health has embarked on its new strategy to improve the quantity and quality of healthcare, says official.

From allowing the private healthcare sector to hike service charges in the near future to setting up the Emirates Health Council, the MoH is rapidly formulating policies and regulations to achieve the highest healthcare standards for nationals and residents.

The UAE Ministry of Health has embarked on its new strategy to improve the quantity and quality of healthcare by constantly upgrading existing policies and developing new ones to meet the needs of the growing population, said a senior health ministry official while addressing a range of issues. A number of challenges in research and a wider implementation of an integrated IT system are yet to be overcome, he said.

In an interview with Khaleej Times, acting Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health, Dr Salem Al Darmaki said that the service charge hike for the private healthcare sector had been proposed to the health council following the recent hike in maternity charges in government hospitals run by the ministry. “We will implement it only after council has approved it,” he said.

He also said that a new system of allowing health checkups for labourers in their home countries was currently being debated. “We are in talks with other health authorities since the idea, if implemented, will provide easy and flexible health services to expatriates,” he said.

He, however, added that the system will not be a replacement for the current medical fitness checkups that all expatriates have to undergo before being able to obtain a work/residency permit in the UAE.

He also said that the Emirates Health Council that has already been set up will soon take charge of healthcare institutions currently managed by the ministry in Sharjah and the Northern Emirates. “The authority has already been established by law and the ministry will soon become the regulatory and policy-making body,” he revealed.

The Emirates Health Council, he said, was a working body established to unify all healthcare sectors in the country. “It is a platform where all health authorities and the private sector exchange ideas to formulate policies and regulations.” According to Dr Darmaki, the ministry’s main objective was to provide accessible healthcare for people in both rural and urban areas. “We have a strong belief that public-private partnerships will play an important role in developing the quality of care in the country,” he said.

He said the ministry was providing more support to the private sector in this regard. Lack of research was among the major challenges facing the healthcare sector in the country, admitted Dr Darmaki.

“A recently formed higher committee for research will establish clear policies on medical research which will in the end be beneficial to tackle diseases such as diabetes and cancer.”

The official also hinted at an upcoming pharmacy law. “The upgraded law discusses issues related to the public sector such as delay in registration of drugs and many such issues,” he added.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com