Dubai Health Authority licence of expats won’t be cancelled on their exit

The licence will be renewed instead of being cancelled like it was being done earlier.- Alamy Image

Healthcare professionals, once licensed in Dubai, will not be required to re-sit for exams if they want to return to the country in future. Their credentials will be saved in the upcoming Dubai Healthcare Professionals Registry and will be reactivated once they decide to come back to the UAE, according to Dubai Health Authority (DHA).
Dr Marwan Al Mulla, CEO of Health Regulation Sector at the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), said that system, which will be launched in the last quarter of this year, is based on those being used in UK and New Zealand.
"Once a healthcare professional leaves the UAE, his/her details will be saved in the system in an inactive form. These details can be viewed by investors and employers as well," he said.
However, the professional should remain actively working or should keep updating their education (Continuous Professional Development).
"The licence will be renewed instead of being cancelled like it was being done earlier," he said.
The registry will provide details such as the date the licence was issued and what specialty the professional is licensed for.
The smart system also ensures transparency while organisations can also check if there are any conditions or restrictions relating to that licence.
Dr Al Mulla was speaking on the sidelines of the three-day 13^th International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities (IAMRA) that started off on Sunday.
The registry will include details about all medical professionals including doctors, nurses, paramedics, radiologists etc.
Dubai has seen a robust growth in the number of medical professionals over the years. In 2009, there were 14,677 medical professionals in the emirate, and as of October this year; there are approximately 38,000 medical professionals in Dubai.
Dr Al Mulla added: "Previously, if a health professional left the Emirate to work abroad, his licence would be cancelled. If he came back to Dubai, he would have to reapply and would need to undertake all the processes required for a new licence. With the introduction of this system, such health professionals will be under the inactive status and if they decide to come back to work in the emirate they will undergo regulatory checks that fall under the renewal category as opposed to the new licence category."
Dr Al Mulla said that the registry will ensure a faster process and will further improve retention of healthcare professionals.
He added that professionals, who leave Dubai and do not continue their work, will not fall under this category. "This applies only to those professionals who either continue their medical education or medical practice abroad."
Dr Al Mulla also said that DHA will rate all healthcare facilities including public and private hospitals and day-care health centres in Dubai in accordance with the Dubai Health Facilities Performance Framework (DHFPF).
The framework, known as Qeyas, will be finalised and implemented at the beginning of next year and has five pillars, which include patient safety, clinical quality, patient happiness, financial and operational indicators.
Humaid Al Qutami, director-general of the DHA said: "Regulation plays a major role in the health care industry. Health care regulations and standards are necessary to ensure compliance and to provide safe health care to every individual who accesses the system."
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com