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Dubai: The health care scene in the country is set for a sea change in the next three years as efforts to link private and government health institutions gather momentum.
Humaid Al Qutami, Minister of Health, told Gulf News that under the new scheme every resident - regardless of nationality and income - would be provided basic health care on a par with top global standards at institutions of their choosing.
Contributions from employers and individual subscribers will pay for treatment under the proposed national health insurance scheme.
Patients would not have to worry about treatment costs once they are covered by insurance, which will be compulsory.
Al Qutami said the health ministry, in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Health Authority and the Dubai Health Authority, was looking to implement a comprehensive strategic plan aimed at improving delivery of health services and enhancing available facilities and skills of medical personnel.
Full backing
At a special Ramadan gathering organised by the UAE Medical Society, Al Qutami dropped broad hints about a great leap for the health sector.
The new scheme of things, he said, enjoyed the full support of the federal government and the governments of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. A doubling of investment in health in just about three years showed the commitment to the cause, he said.
The gathering, which was held at Dr Ali Al Numairi's majlis in Dubai's Al Barsha area yesterday, was attended by representatives from the Dubai Health Authority, the Abu Dhabi Health Authority and the Social Development Authority in Dubai.
Dr Al Numairi, the chairman of the UAE Medical Society, said the organisation would support the ambitious strategy of the ministry and health authorities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi by organising a variety of training programmes and scientific conferences aimed at enhancing the skills of health care personnel and fostering stronger links with health research centres around the world.
He urged the Ministry of Health, the Dubai Health Authority and the Abu Dhabi Health Authority to make it mandatory for doctors and medical staff employed by them to become members of the society to widen their horizons for continuous learning.
Al Numairi said a membership boost for the society would help it organise more programmes, which in turn would turn it into a virtual platform for all medical specialists in the country.
Admitting shortcomings in the performance of medical institutions in the country, Al Qutami said there were hurdles the ministry needed to surmount before it could achieve desired levels of efficiency.
Federal supervision
He said the end objective was to create a federal institution to conduct day-to-day management of hospitals and clinics in emirates other than Dubai and Abu Dhabi that have their own authorities to develop their health services.
The ministry will oversee the operation and focus on policy and legal issues.
The minister sought to highlight six factors that had affected the performance of health services in the country, including the unprecedented population growth and the influx of tourists.
Health risk factors had also increased manifold on account of changes in lifestyle, he observed.
Al Qutami said providing reasonably priced health care services had remained the core concern when the ministry and the local governments arrived at the decision to implement a national health insurance scheme that covered the basic needs of all residents while also channelling investment into modern health care infrastructure.
He said the ministry would also allocate considerable funds for health education and diagnosis centres.
Al Qutami said the ministry would enhance the performance standards of all private clinics and hospitals in keeping with standards it set.
"Once we reach that point, which we expect to achieve in three years, all hospitals and clinics in the country will be inter-linked through a sophisticated digital system that can be accessed by health staff across the country.
"The national data bank will manage information about patients across the country and will reduce the amount of work required by doctors every time they examine a patient and study case histories," he explained.
The system will take into consideration all confidentiality and privacy issues to avoid any misuse of the information available in the bank by unauthorised personnel, he said.
Have your say
When was the last time you went for a medical check up? Do you have a health insurance? Do you think the new law will encourage people to go for regular check ups or seek help if required? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form bellow to send your comment.
Your comments
It was never in a clinic, Last December I was in a mall where free check up was going on and I was diagnosed with High blood pressure since then I am under medication. My husband is diabetic and we find it very difficult to go for regular check ups as its very expensive and we do not have Health Insurance. New law will be a Blessing for people like us everyone wants to live a healthy and happy life.
Bhavna
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 14, 2008, 08:13
I have been hearing for a long time about this (since last three years) nothing has happened so far. MANY COMPANY do not even provide medical facilities to the employees.
Ignatius
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 14, 2008, 07:32
Certainly all will be encouraged to periodical medical check up without hesitation of spending too much. It will pave a way of healthy life style without unnecessarily losing abilities to hear, listen, see etc.
N. Manoharan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 14, 2008, 05:39
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