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Dubai: Work on unifying Dubai's fragmented healthcare standards and regulations is almost complete as the health authority plans to wrap up the consultation process within weeks.
Dubai Medical Regulatory Agency, under the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), announced the April 30 deadline for consultation at a meeting with healthcare workers and service providers on Tuesday.
As part of the emirate's long-term health plan, the DHA requires healthcare standards and regulations for various regulatory bodies in Dubai, including free zones such as Dubai Healthcare City and Dubiotech, Ministry of Health and Dubai Municipality to come together.
Qadi Al Murooshid, director-general of DHA, told the press the agency would then formulate its new unified standards, expected to come out by the end of the year.
"We have to make sure we have a unified standard for all," he said, adding the different healthcare bodies would be "fully integrated".
Part of the unified healthcare regulations require all healthcare facilities, including those owned by the federal government to be licensed by the agency. To become licensed, all healthcare facilities will have to be accredited by an international medical accreditation organisation.
However, current accreditation systems are only applicable to hospitals and large polyclinics, leaving small clinics out in the cold.
Dr Eisa Kazim, assistant director-general of medical affairs at DHA, said the authority was working on introducing an accreditation system for small clinics.
Small clinics
"We don't have defined standards for small clinics, so what we have done is [propose to accreditation bodies - Joint Commission International and Canadian Council on Health Services] to develop standards from different parts of the system and fit together the standards for the small clinic," he said.
He added the DHA would develop its own accreditation standards for healthcare facilities in the future, basing them on current international standards.
DHA's work to tighten healthcare standards has generated concern among some quarters, fearing they were tightening the standards before the infrastructure could keep up. Examples include a nursing shortage at private hospitals after the DHA tightened qualifications in 2006 and special baby care unit shortage after DHA tightened care requirements in 2007.
Dr Kazim admitted it would be a balancing act to ensure standards do not decrease public access to quality healthcare services. "We have to be careful not to deny healthcare provision to the public [but] it will not create a shortage," he said.
He added one way the DHA would tackle the issue would be to direct the development of new healthcare facilities and services to areas that lack these services.
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