Dubai Health becomes first UAE academic health system to earn JCI accreditation

Dubai: Dubai Health has earned Joint Commission International (JCI) enterprise accreditation across its integrated academic health system, covering its institutional and academic operations, as well as its hospitals.

Dubai Health has become the first integrated academic health system in the UAE to earn this accreditation, an international benchmark for healthcare quality and patient safety.

The accreditation follows an evaluation by JCI, which assessed Dubai Health's central administrative functions against 149 standards, achieving 100 per cent compliance. Its medical education and hospital operations attained a 99.7 per cent compliance rate across 1,170 standards.

At the institutional level, the assessment covered quality and performance improvement, governance and leadership, as well as system alignment and integration. At the academic and hospital levels, the evaluation assessed standards related to patient-centred care, patient safety, medical education and professional training.

This also marks the first time that all five Dubai Health hospitals, Rashid Hospital, Dubai Hospital, Hatta Hospital, Latifa Hospital and Al Jalila Children's Hospital, have undergone the JCI Academic Medical Center (AMC) accreditation survey simultaneously, with all five achieving accreditation.

The five hospitals had previously received JCI accreditation over the years.

Dr. Amer Sharif, CEO of Dubai Health and President of Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), said: "As the first integrated academic health system in the UAE to receive JCI enterprise accreditation, we are proud to see our collective efforts acknowledged across our hospitals, academic and institutional operations. This milestone reinforces our commitment to continuous improvement and to creating better experiences and outcomes for the patients and communities we serve."

He added: "I extend my sincere appreciation to all our teams whose dedication made this possible. This success represents another step in our journey to advance health for humanity and further position Dubai and the UAE at the forefront of healthcare quality and institutional excellence."

Dr. Hanan Al Suwaidi, Deputy CEO and Chief Academic Officer of Dubai Health and Provost of MBRU, said: "Achieving JCI AMC accreditation reflects how closely medical education and healthcare delivery are connected across Dubai Health. It also highlights the quality of our education and clinical training programs, and our academic approach that brings together care, learning, and discovery. This integration enables us to nurture future healthcare professionals who contribute to advancing the standards of care."

Dr. Entesar Al Hammadi, Chair of Patient Safety and Quality at Dubai Health, said: "At Dubai Health, quality and patient safety are embedded in everything we do. Achieving internationally recognized accreditations reflects our ongoing focus on continuous improvement across our institutional, academic, and clinical operations. It also reinforces our ability to deliver consistent, safe care and ensure our healthcare system remains aligned with global best practices."

She added: "We pursued JCI accreditation because it is recognized globally as a benchmark for quality and patient safety. The accreditation process helped align practices across our healthcare and academic facilities and provided valuable opportunities to benchmark our performance against international standards. This achievement reflects our culture of continuous improvement and supports our mission to advance patient safety practices, in line with our 'Patient First' promise."

JCI is an international healthcare accreditation body. Its Gold Seal of Approval is recognised as a mark of healthcare quality and patient safety.

JCI accreditation involves an evaluation of how healthcare organisations deliver care, ensure patient safety and improve their services. Its standards cover healthcare environments, consistency in care delivery and patient outcomes.