A spurt in population size, increased health awareness and more money spent on medical care than ever before — add up all these elements and it’s not hard to see why the demand for quality health care across the UAE is growing. It is estimated that the demand for hospital beds across the GCC will surge, with the UAE registering the highest growth at 160 per cent by 2025, according to a recent study by McKinsey and Company.
To improve the standard of health care and drive UAE residents to seek treatment within the country instead of travelling overseas, the UAE government has adopted a policy of encouraging top global and regional health-care service providers to launch facilities in the country.
Germany has always been at the forefront of global medical treatment and research. It enjoys an excellent reputation worldwide, including in the UAE, for its quality of service and cost-efficiency. For years Germany has been the destination of choice for UAE residents seeking the best European standards of treatment.
“Thousands of people travel to Germany from the UAE every year to receive medical treatment. Though reversing the trend is a slow process, we are getting there,” says Dr Ottmar Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer, Al Rawdah German Medical Center, based in Abu Dhabi.
To leverage more opportunities, its parent company, German General Hospital, will launch another 240-bed hospital at Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi in 2013. “There appears to be a mindset in the UAE that you need to travel internationally to access high-quality health care. We have set up our facility in Abu Dhabi to offer the same service one would get in Germany: our doctors have German qualifications and they use German equipment and technology to treat patients,” Dr Schmidt says.
Dr Klaus Thomas Kallmayer, Senior Consultant Cardiologist, German Heart Centre Bremen, agrees that it is not easy to reverse the decades-old trend of travelling abroad for medical treatment. It takes time to create wide public awareness, as this happens almost exclusively through personal experience and word of mouth. “We can, however, say that patients who have already used our services in Dubai no longer find it necessary to travel to Germany.” Dubai Healthcare City-based German Heart Centre Bremen is owned and staffed by the same group that operates Bremen Federal State Heart Centre, one of the leading cardiology centres in northern Germany.
Also responding to the demand for German health care in the UAE is regional health-care giant Saudi German Hospitals Group, which boasts collaborations with several German universities and operates five hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The group is setting up a 315-bed hospital in Dubai’s Al Barsha district.
Difference in cost
Though there is not much difference between the two countries in terms of cost, patients can, however, save on travel expenses and accommodation and enjoy the added benefit of getting treated in familiar surroundings when they opt for German hospitals in the UAE.
Dr Kallmayer of German Heart Centre explains why health-care costs are sometimes moderately higher in the UAE than in Germany. “There is a politically motivated price cap in Germany, which often forces medical service providers to keep their prices low. Our operational costs in the UAE often go up as we bring our team from Germany and keep key staff rotating between the two countries. The overall cost of treatment is, however, lower in the UAE as there are no travel expenses or loss of time.”
Though these establishments diligently follow established German work ethics, they respect the cultural sensitivities of their UAE patients to put them at their ease. As Dr Kallmayer points out, “Before we even started our operations in the UAE, we attended several workshops to understand cultural diversity and habits in the Arab world.”
Growth of medical technologies
Along with the services sector, the German medical technologies and devices industry is also on a growth trajectory worldwide, including here in the UAE. A recent study conducted on behalf of the German Ministry of Economics by the strategy consultancy firm Roland Berger shows that the global health-care market is expected to grow by 6 per cent a year to $20 trillion (Dh73.4 trillion) by 2030. Germany is particularly poised to benefit from the trend given the potential of its health-care export sector.
In response to opportunities in the Middle East, several premium German life sciences brands have now set up regional operations. “German health-care manufacturers are renowned worldwide for their superior engineering and this puts German brands in the driver’s seat for innovation in medical and laboratory products and services,” says Lloyd Lobo, Sales Manager, Eppendorf Middle East and Africa. Hamburg-based biotech major Eppendorf started its Dubai operation in 2006.
A spokesperson from the German embassy in Abu Dhabi points out that Tawam Molecular Imagine Centre by Mubadala Healthcare is completely conceived, designed and equipped by health solutions of the German company Siemens. The Al Ain-based centre is setting the standard in innovation and workflow in the region.
Another testament to Germany’s growing interest in the UAE health-care sector is the Arab Health exhibition, which takes place in Dubai every year. Germany was the largest exhibitor group this year with 384 participants.
German influences are evident in the UAE insurance sector as well. Daman, one of the leading health insurers in the UAE with 2.1 million members, for instance, is 80 per cent owned by the Abu Dhabi government and 20 per cent by German insurance group Munich Re.
“Munich Re as [our] strategic partner has transferred many German and international health insurance know-how to Daman,” says Dr Michael Bitzer, Chief Executive Officer, Daman.
As the UAE strives to raise the standard of its health-care infrastructure and consolidate its position as a medical tourism hub in the GCC, Germany with its reputation as a quality health-care provider stands to gain from it.
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Medical tourism in Germany
Germany has always been atttractive to patients from the emerging world looking for advanced medical care. Today, around 10 per cent of German health-care centres cater to international medical tourists. According to the German Federal Statistical Office, around 68,000 patients from 169 countries underwent inpatient treatment in various German hospitals in 2008, the last year for which data is available.
A growing number of people from the Arab world, including the UAE, combine medical care with a holiday in Germany, owing to ease of access and travel, safe and quick treatment, and cost-efficiency. From a simple cosmetic procedure to open-heart surgery, UAE patients seek treatments in all the disciplines.
A spokesperson from the German embassy in Abu Dhabi says, “Our aim is to strengthen Germany’s position as a leading destination for health and fitness holidays. Fifteen per cent of all foreign visitors to Germany are particularly interested in doing something for their health and their physical fitness.”
Oliver Grieve, spokesperson for the University Medical Centre of Schleswig-Holstein, points out that it regularly receives patients from the UAE. “We treated 11 patients last year,” he says. He adds that its staff are keenly aware of and trained on the cultural sensitivity of Arab patients.
The German hospitality sector has been quick to respond to growth in medical tourism from the Middle East. Hotels all over Germany offer special packages for medical travellers. Rocco Forte, for instance, with its three German hotels close to leading medical centres, offers travellers not only a comfortable stay in its properties but also options of receiving complete follow-up treatment outside the hospital.
The Charles Hotel, one of Rocco Forte’s properties, has hired an Arab chef for its Middle Eastern guests.
