The right dose: Healthcare capsules for the UAE

Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami, Minister of Health, in an exclusive interview to XPRESS, talks about the latest initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Health to improve the UAE's healthcare standards.

From multi-million dirham cancer centres to an electronic network linking hospitals and clinics in the UAE and the much-awaited federal health insurance scheme, the government has lined up a raft of initiatives to improve the standard of healthcare in the nation.

Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami, Minister of Health, said these major health reforms will provide the UAE residents with better access to higher standards of healthcare.

The changes, he said, are in line with the federal government's plans to double the investment in the healthcare sector over the next three years.

"We have identified key areas and are aware of the shortcomings. The funds will be used to bring about major developments in the health sector," Al Qutami said.

The most ambitious of these initiatives by the Ministry of Health, he added, includes an electronic network system that will link hospitals and clinics in the UAE.

PRESCRIPTIONS FOR THE NATION'S LIFELINE

1. Federal health insurance

The Federal Health insurance scheme will provide affordable healthcare to all UAE residents.

"The scheme will be implemented by the end of this year," said Al Qutami. "We are working with The Ministry of Finance and have finalised the details of the scheme. The scheme will make healthcare affordable to one and all."

At present, only Abu Dhabi has a compulsory health insurance scheme and Dubai has announced the mandatory health insurance scheme that will be implemented from January 1, 2009. The federal scheme will be integrated with the Dubai and Abu Dhabi schemes.

2. Primary healthcare

In order to access affordable healthcare, there needs to be a larger number of primary clinics, especially in the northern emirates.

"We are aware that there is a shortage of primary health centres and we want to reach out to regions that are deprived of these services," said Al Qutami. He said the ministry will open 85 primary health centres – to be built in the northern emirates by the end of 2009.

"The project will provide necessary healthcare to residents living in under-developed and rural areas in the UAE."

Currently, the ministry has 12 primary health centres in the UAE.

3. Medical liability law

"There will be major developments in the medical liability law. A technical committee will be established to help determine the cases," said Al Qutami. He said the law will cover all aspects of negligence, malpractice and mismanagement in the healthcare sector.

According to him, as of now, only Ministry of Health doctors have compulsory medical malpractice insurance. But this will change.

"Soon, all doctors practising in the UAE will have compulsory medical liability insurance, irrespective of whether they work for the private or the government sector," he said.

4. Abortion

The Medical Liability Law will also have a code of ethics and it will define the circumstances under which abortion may be allowed.

Al Qutami said: "Abortion is against our religion. In the UAE, we want to promote a growing family. We are a Muslim country and it can't be allowed."

However, he said, exceptions will be made on medical grounds, if the pregnancy is life-threatening to the mother or the foetus, which is less than 120 days old, or is deformed.

"If it is necessary on medical grounds, it is understandable – say if the pregnant lady has an accident and abortion is needed. There has to be a valid medical reason."

5. Diabetes registry

While the medical liability law and other strategic policies help establish standards in healthcare, Al Qutami said it is imperative to look at specific health issues that the UAE faces.

On top of the list is the problem of diabetes in the country. According to reports, one in five people in the UAE is diabetic and the disease gobbles up a substantial amount of the healthcare budget each year. Al Qutami said: "The policy will include systems and protocols that all hospitals will follow. There will be clear guidelines to battle the disease."

The ministry is working on an online diabetes registry.

6. Fast food in schools

Al Qutami said measures must be in place to control prevalence of obesity and diabetes among schoolchildren. He said: "A blanket ban is not a solution. We have to use other measures of creating awareness and promoting healthy foods."

The Ministry of Health earlier reported that the total number of chronic disease cases in public schools in Dubai during the academic year 2006-2007 reached 9,033.

Of this, obesity accounted for 1,658 cases and diabetes 75 cases.

7. Cancer centres

Al Qutami said the UAE needs more cancer centres providing radiation therapy.

Currently, only Al Tawam Hospital in Al Ain and Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi provide radiotherapy.

This means cancer patients from other emirates, such as Dubai, need to travel on a daily basis to these places to be treated.

"We are building a Dh600 million cancer centre in Ras Al Khaimah and a few centres in Dubai that will provide radiotherapy for cancer patients." He said the hospital is already under construction and will be completed by 2010.

8. Electronic health network

Of all the projects in the pipeline, Al Qutami said the electronic health network is the most ambitious.

He said by far it is the largest project of its kind in the Middle East.

Over the next three years, the Dh300-million Wareed Health Information System (HIS) will link all hospitals and clinics in the country.

Al Qutami said the system will significantly help to reduce medical errors, given that every health centre and hospital will have access to patient files. "The system will ensure all patient records are electronically maintained and can be shared between specialists of different hospitals."

This will be possible with a centralised database of patients' history, including medication, previous medical records, laboratory tests, etc.

The system, he said, will ensure timely access of critical patient information.

The ministry may either adopt the use of biometrics such as finger printing or they may plan to implement a smart card system to ensure authenticity of users who access this database.

Did you know?

The Federal Health insurance scheme will provide affordable healthcare to all UAE residents. also, The Medical Liability Law will have a code of ethics to define the circumstances under which abortion may be allowed