Now, a single electronic medical file for every Dubai resident

Dubai: Ensuring high standards of patient confidentiality and a smooth flow of care, Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has announced the introduction of Phase 1 of the Nabidh initiative on Sunday.

Nabidh (meaning pulse in Arabic) is an acronym for Network and Analysis Backbone for Integrated Dubai Health. It is Dubai’s cutting-edge Health Information Exchange and Population Health Programme to enable health-care professionals to securely access unified medical records from all public and private medical facilities in Dubai. With Nabidh’s vision of unifying Dubai’s health care, DHA continues to enhance its collaborative health-care ecosystem.

How will Nabidh work?

The project provides a unified medical record for each individual in Dubai by connecting the information contained in all public and private health care facilities. Nabidh’s community view of patient’s health record will lead to improved quality and patient safety, reduced cost and evidence-based care.

The first phase of the project has been launched, with DHA and several Mediclinic hospitals and clinics are presently on board. In terms of unique patient identifier in Nabidh or individual patient electronic files, about 1.12 million files are currently online as part of the Nabidh initiative.

This means that irrespective of whether the patient visits any DHA facility or a certain Mediclinic hospital or clinic, the patient’s file will seamlessly be available electronically across these facilities.

Phase II will include many other private hospitals

In the next phase, other hospitals and health centres will be added. By the first quarter of 2021, Zulekha Hospital, Kings College Dubai and Al Zahra Hospital will be included in this system.

The implementation of Nabidh health-care facilities is a three-year project, which will ensure every patient in Dubai has one electronic file that can be accessed by health care professionals across public or private facilities, providing the patient with a paperless comprehensive medical record and enhancing patient care significantly.

Single electronic file for patient through public and private hospital

During the launch of the initiative, Humaid Al Qutami, Director-General of DHA, said the Nabidh project will positively impact efficient health care delivery in Dubai and will be of advantageous to health-care professionals as well as patients. He said the DHA was keen to utilise the latest digital technology and cutting-edge solutions to enhance the health sector in Dubai and ensure the highest quality of accessible care for patients.

Simplifying procedures and saving time

Dr Mohammad Al Redha, Director of Project Management Office, Health Informatics and Smart Health at the DHA, said the initiative would enable information to follow the patient wherever he went to seek treatment. saving precious time and improving the quality of health care in Dubai.

Through Nabidh, DHA aims to transform health care into a collaborative ecosystem by connecting 1,500 health-care facilities, 11,000 physicians and 3.3 million people within the emirate.