Dubai: People in the remote areas of the emirate will be provided access to the best health-care specialists by the end of November through telemedicine by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA).
More versions of the Dubai Robo Doc, currently set up at Hatta Hospital, will be rolled out at other Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and hospitals to connect patients in remote areas with doctors in the city to provide telemedicine aid in cases of stroke, critical care, cardiology, trauma, paediatrics, neonatology and behavioural health, among other things.
In addition to telemedicine, health literacy and empowerment of the average Dubai resident is going to become a reality through a series of other smart initiatives such as smart apps, automated assisted chair and self-check booths that will be introduced by DHA.
Amani Al Jasmi, head of DHA’s Director of Information, told Gulf News: “We have planned greater home care initiatives and self-help health apps that will give a patient better control over his records and access to the health facilities and health specialists in Dubai. All the new smart initiatives will be launched by the end of November and most of them are free of charge at the moment.”
Here’s a preview of DHA’s smart initiatives on display at Gitex 2015.
The Automated Assessment Chair (AAC)
This chair, the first of its kind to be made available in the UAE, will be provided at some of DHA’s Primary Health Centres (PHCs). Amani said: “This is a six-minute non-invasive screening facility that gives a health warning to an individual by measuring his vital parameters such as temperature, blood circulation, blood pressure, stress levels, fatigue index, and also a warning of plaque formation in the heart, if there is any such activity, along with Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), fat composition, et., through infra red rays. The machine scans your Emirates ID or if that is not present, an individual can enter basic information in either Arabic or English before beginning the scan. The results of the scan will be made available to walk-in customers at PHCs free of charge initially and reports can be printed on site as well as emailed to your doctor directly.”
Self-help health kiosks
These unique self-health screening kiosks will be provided in malls and public places to enable the individual to have spot health check-ups and get a snapshot of their current health condition, collect data, analyse and use the information for the National Preventive Health Care initiatives. In addition to this, people will be able to renew their health cards, make or change appointments at the kiosks.
Apps
Currently, the DHA has two apps — Sehaty, which provides access to electronic medical records, and Dubai Doctor, which enables a patient to locate and arrange medical appointments. Both are available on Apple and Android operating systems.
Now, there will be four new apps. These are:
1) Tifli: an app for pregnant women. The app will provide information from preconception until the baby is two years of age. Through this app, users will be able to reschedule or cancel a doctor’s appointment, have access to videos and articles on best practices during different stages of pregnancy, register emergency numbers of important people such as spouse or mother, make a call for an ambulance during emergency, track their baby’s growth and weekly milestones, monitor their labour pain and understand their contractions better so as to know when they should visit a hospital.
The free app will also provide young mothers useful information about breastfeeding, ways to overcome breastfeeding difficulties, breastfeeding techniques and best nutritional practices.
2) Tashkees: this app will provide access to information in medical journals.
3) Hayati: a diabetes app, it enables Type I and Type II patients to manage their condition, enable transfer of their glucometer reading to the app and give them access to an emergency tab that they can press to alert two registered family members as well as 999 to alert them through a notification.
4) Mazad: an app that will enable smart auctions of commercial spaces in DHA-run health-care facilities and auctions of biomedical equipment.
All apps, inspired by Windows 8, are compatible with all platforms — Apple iOS, Google Android, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile, among others, Amani said.
