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Empowering patients in UAE: DHA discusses Dubai Digital Health Strategy with more than 100 key stakeholders

The system involves digitising patient records, using data analytics and AI, maximising interoperability of healthcare systems, and more

The Dubai Health Authority held a workshop with more than 100 key healthcare stakeholders, including health providers and technology partners, to discuss the Dubai Digital Health Strategy. The strategy, which is in its finalization stages, aims to deliver patient-centric and data-driven healthcare services, regulation and integration through digital innovation.

The workshop presented an opportunity to provide a detailed overview of the strategy and an opportunity for stakeholders to provide their feedback prior to the finalisation of the strategy for the health sector of Dubai.

Ahmed Al Nuaimi, CEO of Corporate Shared Support Services Sector, emphasised that collaboration is a key component for the success of this strategy and that building a digital ecosystem for the health sector is in line with the Emirate’s digitisation strategy, that aims to provide the highest quality of services to community members.

“In Dubai, we are implementing digital transformation across the full spectrum of healthcare, from telemedicine, to e-claims, disease surveillance and management as well as electronic health records and health information exchange. We aim to harness the power of technology to transform the way healthcare services are delivered in Dubai and to provide patients with the highest quality of patient-centred and personalised care,” said Al Nuaimi.

Dr Nahed Monsef, Director of Strategy & Governance Department DHA said: “A digital strategy provides a detailed framework to help us achieve digital transformation across all areas of the health sector from healthcare management and processes to patient services so that we can best utilize technology to further bolster the health system and provide the highest quality of care to our patients. The Dubai Digital Health Strategy will enable and empower the population of Dubai to better manage their health and well-being by establishing connectivity between digital technologies and health related sciences."

Objectives of the strategy include:

· Digitising the patient journey across the continuum of care.

· Defining governance framework, legislations and policies for digital health.

· Maximising interoperability of healthcare systems

· Utilising robust up-to-date infrastructure

· Utilising advanced information management, data analytics and AI.

· Leading the field of Digital Health Research and Development

· Establishing a Digital Health ecosystem by empowering a digital community and creating platforms for human capital training and planning

Dr Mohammad Al Redha, Director of DHA’s Health Informatics and Smart Health Department said: “A digital strategy in healthcare will benefit the health sector, enhance patient delivery and provide data to plan effective evidence-based population health and disease prevention strategies. At the same time, it will empower patients with digital tools to track their health and wellbeing."

Once such initiative in the pipeline is the NABIDH initiative, which is the electronic medical record initiative for the Emirate of Dubai, that provides patients and their healthcare professionals which access to an electronic medical record. The file provides a complete snapshot of the patient’s medical history and flags allergies. The project is linked to UAE’s Riyati initiative, ensuring that in future every person in the UAE has one electronic medical file.

At the event, 52 hospitals in the Emirate were felicitated for onboarding the NABIDH initiative. This means, presently 100 per cent of hospitals in Dubai are integrated with the NABIDH system and by the end of this year, all clinics in the Emirate will also be a part of this system.

Al Redha said: “NABIDH is a key initiative in our healthcare digitisation journey. We are proud of the collaboration with health facilities across the public and the private health sector to help us achieve this vision and further enhance the health sector in Dubai.”

Al Redha added that NABIDH enables central storage and secure exchange of patient health information between healthcare professionals.

For patients, it means that their healthcare provider will have one electronic medical file with all their medical reports safety stored and that when the patient moves from one facility to another, the medical file will follow.

Al Redha said that all these pioneering initiatives will be part of the larger framework of the Dubai Digital Health Framework. “At the end of the day, our priority is patient care and wellbeing. Digitisation of health services not only benefits the health sector by reducing costs and improving efficiencies but also ensures patients are empowered, helps in the delivery of patient-centred care and an end-to-end seamless patient experience across the complete continuum of care.”

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