Dubai plans hospital ratings system, payment-by-quality plan

A view of the medical facilities inside Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Hospital located in Dubai Healthcare City

Dubai continues with its drive to improve healthcare services for both residents and medical tourists, with its latest initiative being a pilot project to rate and rank hospitals.
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The 'multi-star' project is connected to a future plan to link payments to quality of services provided in hospitals.
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A senior health official from the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) said this project will serve as a base for other hospital ratings. "For starters, we have selected five hospitals to implement this project," said Dr Layla Al Marzouqi, Director of Health Regulation at the Medical Tourism Project, DHA.
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"The rating, however, will take time to complete. maybe two years," Al Marzouqi said on the sidelines of the two-day second Dubai Health Regulation and Medical Tourism Conference that opened on Tuesday.
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The hospitals are being evaluated on basis of medical specialties, number of beds, specialists etc and after two years, all 26 hospitals in the emirate will undergo this rating system.
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"We are also working on a system whereby payment is contingent to the quality offered by healthcare providers in Dubai," said Dr Haider Al Yousuf, Director of Health Funding. "We expect a level of quality from healthcare providers. If this level drops, it will not be tolerated but those who perform well will be rewarded," he said.
Roadmap for medical tourism
Officials say that tighter regulations and the new rating system are essential for Dubai's "roadmap for medical tourism."
"The infrastructure, cultural sensitivity, patients' bill of rights and medical insurance for tourists are among the several factors that make Dubai an ideal medical tourism destination," said Dr Layla.
Humaid Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board and Director-General of DHA, said: "Dubai has a strong health regulation framework and this has helped ensure quality healthcare which in itself is a catalyst for medical tourism."
The Dubai Health Experience (DXH) that was launched in April through its website www.dxh.ae is already drawing the attention officials hoped it would. The site allows medical tourists to book tickets, access comprehensive information about health care services, visas, hotel and other touristic services and packages.
In 2015, Dubai saw a total of 630,833 medical tourists, of which 280,000 visitors were from within the UAE. The international medical tourists generated Dh1.5 billion in revenues.
Plans to build 22 hospitals, including 18 private and four public, in the next few years are also in the pipeline. By 2020, the aim is to attract 500,000 medical tourists from abroad.
Orthopedic and cosmetic surgeries remain the most popular among medical tourists followed by IVF. Regulations are also being developed to introduce telemedicine in the emirate.
While the health authority does the job of a regulator, services are offered by 32 healthcare groups that know what sells in the growing medical tourism sector.
Any patient undergoing the Dubai Health Experience is offered a safety net through the tourist medical insurance, which other destinations such as Thailand and Turkey do not offer to the clients.
The insurance company will bear the cost of flying the patient back into Dubai, as well as residence and required treatment costs. Insurance for a medical tourist costs Dh150. Currently, a medical tourist visa is valid from one to three months and is extendable twice up to 270 days.
High-level officials including the president of the International Organisation of Medical Tourism and president of the International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities (IAMRA) attended the conference.
Dubai's medical tourism in numbers

• 630,833: Medical tourists in Dubai in 2015
• 280,000 visitors were from within the UAE
• 500,000 international medical tourists expected by 2020
• 22 new hospitals planned in Dubai in next few years