How UAE healthcare sector combines technology, safety protocols, and patient-centred approaches

“Our focus on safety begins with rigorous standards across every touchpoint”

Akbar Moideen Thumbay, Vice-President, Thumbay Healthcare Division

At Thumbay Group, our guiding principle has always been to place people at the centre of healthcare. In 2025, this commitment has translated into strengthened systems, enhanced clinical capabilities, and a culture of compassion that is deeply embedded across all our hospitals and medical universities.

Our focus on safety begins with rigorous standards across every touchpoint — from patient admission to clinical protocols and digital documentation. Continuous training, accreditation readiness, and adherence to international benchmarks ensure that every patient receives care that is consistent, evidence-based, and reliable.

Equally important is empathy. We believe that healing is not limited to medical intervention; it is shaped by how patients feel, how they are supported, and how their families are reassured. This has led us to invest in patient-experience programmes, multilingual support teams, and environments designed to reduce anxiety and promote comfort.

Medical excellence remains the foundation of our work. Through our academic healthcare model, we integrate education, research, and clinical practice, ensuring that our teams are always aligned with the latest advancements. Our hospitals continue to adopt emerging technologies, AI-driven diagnostics, and precision-medicine approaches that provide faster, safer, and more accurate treatment outcomes.

By bringing these pillars together — safety, empathy, and excellence — we have built a holistic model of care that we believe sets a new benchmark for healthcare quality in the UAE. This is an ongoing journey, and we remain committed to elevating standards and contributing meaningfully to the country’s healthcare vision.

“Trust is built through consistency, compassion, and clinical rigor”

Dr Jeffrey Chapman, Chief Quality Officer, Staff Physician, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

At Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, quality care begins with trust, and trust is built through consistency, compassion, and clinical rigor. In 2025, we’ve continued to raise the bar by embedding safety and empathy into every interaction, ensuring that patients receive world-class treatment, with the highest levels of dignity, respect, and personalised attention.

The year marked a significant milestone for us: over one million patient encounters, a reflection of the trust the community places in us. Behind each number is a system of integrated care, grounded in multidisciplinary expertise and world-class safety protocols.

Our commitment to excellence in quality and patient safety is recognised both locally and globally. We are proud to have earned multiple accreditations from respected industry bodies, including the Joint Commission International (JCI) Gold Seal of Approval, awarded to us for the fourth consecutive cycle since 2016. This distinction reflects our organisation’s commitment to best practices and world-class standards.

“Our ecosystem is deeply rooted in the values of compassion and empathy”

Dr Sherbaz Bichu, CEO, Aster Hospitals and Clinics, UAE, Oman, and Bahrain

Aster Hospitals and Clinics are setting new benchmarks for quality care in 2025 through our unwavering focus on safety, empathy, and medical excellence, which form the bedrock of our operations. Our ecosystem is deeply rooted in the values of compassion and empathy, aligning seamlessly with our chairman’s vision of creating a healthcare system that prioritises saving lives. We believe that by delivering exceptional care, profitability follows naturally. This patient-centric approach not only enhances patient outcomes but also fosters a supportive environment, building a sustainable and successful healthcare model.

Our forward-thinking approach to quality healthcare is significantly shaped by technological advancements.

Innovations such as personalised medicine, telehealth expansion, AI and machine learning, wearable technology, robotics and automation, and blockchain are transforming the landscape of healthcare. These advancements promise to improve patient outcomes, increase efficiency, and make healthcare more accessible and personalised.