DHA offers telemedicine to Dubai patients

By Angel Chan

DUBAI 14 September 2019: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has adopted seven main components to support telehealth services to implement the goals of Article Five of the Fifty-Year Charter.

Article 5 “A Doctor for every citizen” of the Fifty-Year Charter was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, with the aim of providing medical consultations 24/7 by hundreds of thousands of doctors, specialists and consultants from around the world through smart government applications.

It aims to transform the medical system to bring doctors closer to individuals, enhance awareness, and utilise top medical minds globally to serve the health of citizens.

Dr Marwan Al Mulla, CEO of the Health Regulation Sector at the DHA and Chairman of the technical committee working on implementing Article 5 “A Doctor for every citizen” said that Article Five has become a performance indicator for measuring the efficiency of health systems and medical facilities. He added that achieving Article 5 has become one of the authority’s main objectives and that the DHA is employing all of its capabilities to meet this goal.

Dr Al Mulla said that the authority studied the current situation of Dubai in regards to telehealth services and also held workshops attended by its strategic partners in the health sector to work together in putting in place healthcare standards for telemedicine based on Federal Law Decree No. 4 of 2016 on Medical Liability, which includes telemedicine standards and conditions.

He said that the authority is working on providing a distinctive model for telehealth services adding that this model includes seven main components:
1.Providing medical consultations using telehealth services
2.Using electronic medical files to access patient’s family history
3.Prescribing medications via telemedicine based on an approved list of medication, which is allowed to be prescribed via telehealth services.
4.Raising awareness on how to use medical devices for initial diagnosis such as thermometer, blood glucose monitoring devices, devices for self-measurement of blood pressure and other essential biomarkers.
5.Studying the optimal options for the application of the model to provide the telehealth services for free.
6.Developing packages that incentivize the use of telemedicine services.
7.Developing the appropriate legislative framework for the provision of telemedicine services in the Emirate of Dubai.

Dr Al Mulla said that the authority also has a lot of existing projects, initiatives and programmes that are in line with the objectives of the article. He added that the authority had researched the best international models in providing telemedicine services to learn about the latest advancement in this field.

He concluded by stating that the authority constantly works to utilise the best technologies and smart services in the fields of diagnosis, treatment and prevention to provide quality services for the people of Dubai. He said that the DHA will be closely working with its strategic partners in the next phase to come up with innovative initiatives that support Article 5 “A doctor for every citizen”.