Dubai: Filing medical complaints in Dubai will depend on where you received the treatment. Dubai has two health authorities — Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC). There is also the federal health authority, the Ministry of Health. For this report’s purpose, we will deal with DHA and DHCC which have different offices and ways of addressing patient grievances.
For DHA’s case, any patient can file a medical complaint if he or she was affected by the actions or decisions of a health-care provider. It can be filed personally via the DHA hotline (800-342) or via email.
A legal representative may file the complaint on behalf of an underage patient or immobile patients such as those in coma.
According to Article 14 of the Medical Liability Law of 2008, a medical malpractice is an error resulting from the unfamiliarity of the practitioner with the technical aspects which each practitioner is assumed to be familiar with, or due to negligence or paying insufficient efforts.
Dr Layla Al Marzouqi, Director of Health Regulation and Dubai Medical Tourism Initiative at DHA, said filing medical complaints is crucial in keeping health standards up to par and protecting the general community.
“There are some people who say, ‘We don’t want to complain, we don’t want to harm this doctor’. But if this doctor harms you and if you do not complain, he will go on and harm somebody else. So we need to protect the community,” Dr Layla told Gulf News.
“As DHA, our eyes cannot be everywhere all the time. We need the help of the public to attract our attention to practices that are not up to the quality, not up to the standards. So we will take correct action to improve the quality and safety of the patient,” she added.
Dr Layla said a patient can file a medical complaint from the time of the complication up to a period of three years.
But how does one proceed?
1) Download and fill the medical complaint form from DHA’s website (www.dha.gov.ae).
2) Make sure to explain specifically what the medical complaint is about. This could be any one of the following: case management not up to the expected standard, given wrong medication, complications resulting from treatment, among others.
3) Clarify what you hope to achieve from this action. For example, do you require an apology, information about your condition, an explanation, or further treatment.
4) Attach relevant documents such as medical records, patient history, doctor-issued documents and laboratory tests, X-rays, etc. Include your personal identification such as copies of Emirates ID, copy of passport and visa page.
5) Submit the documents via email or to the Health Regulation Department office of DHA at Business Village near Clock Tower in Deira. They accept complaints from 8am to 2pm
6) You will receive an acknowledgement letter of your complaint within two working days. A Health Regulation Department representative will contact you for further information and to schedule a meeting with you.
7) The department will assess your complaint if it is medical in nature and not finance or insurance-related.
8) Depending on the severity of the case, an investigation committee composed of at least one consultant and at least three doctors with the same speciality will investigate the matter.
Dr Layla said if the case is simple, the case gets resolved in a month’s time. Complicated cases may take longer.
DHA received 316 complaints in 2012, 579 in 2013, 472 in 2014, and 155 for the first four months of 2015. But not all these cases turned out to be medical in nature; some were insurance-related so they referred them to the government entity responsible for it. In 2014, for example, only 199 out of the 472 cases received were medical. Dr Layla noted that no medical malpractice case was received that year.
DHA does not compensate patients in cases of malpractice. But they direct patients to court once the investigation is complete. “So, after we conclude the investigation, they have to go to the court to file a civil case and the court will decide on the amount of compensation needed,” Dr Layla said, adding disciplinary measures are taken on the doctor involved.
In the case of DHCC, the authority could not provide a comment on medical malpractice due to unavailability of the relevant spokesperson. But filing a general medical complaint can be just as easy as completing a form and emailing it, sending it via courier, or filing it in person at DHCC offices.
Dr Ramadan Ebrahim Al Beloushi, Managing Director, Dubai Healthcare City Authority — Regulatory, said: “Regulation and licensure of all health-care professionals and health-care operators, together with the handling of any complaints arising from the provision of clinical services, are overseen and handled by the Dubai Healthcare City Authority, the governing body and regulator of Dubai Healthcare City.”
To file a complaint:
1) Download and fill out the complaint form from DHCC’s website: (http://www.dhcc.ae/Portal/en/forms.aspx). The Complaint Form is bilingual (Arabic and English) and the complainant may choose the language he or she prefers. All supporting documents, however, such as medical reports, should be in English.
2) Include documentary evidence such as medical reports, radiology images, laboratory tests, etc, along with standard identification such as Emirates ID (if a resident), passport and visa copy.
3) Dr Al Beloushi said once a complaint is logged, it is verified to ensure that it falls within the jurisdiction of the authority such as a complaint against a facility or a health-care professional. Complaints that are out of their scope such as a criminal offence or financial- and health-insurance related complaints are referred to the relevant authorities.
4) Once a complaint is accepted with the relevant supporting documents — medical records for instance, a formal investigation is initiated. The findings from the investigation are reviewed by an independent complaints committee and the appropriate course of action — dismissal or disciplinary measures — is taken. On average, a typical complaint is resolved between three and six months.
Dr Al Beloushi added: “Further, in September 2014, an Appeals Board, which provides health-care professionals and health-care operators with an independent system to appeal against decisions relating to licensing or complaints was formally introduced at Dubai Healthcare City.”
The board is considered a milestone for DHCC’s regulatory framework because it “underscores the fair, transparent and equitable complaints and Appeal processes that are in place at DHCC”, Dr Al Beloushi said.
