By Mariecar Jara-Puyod
Dubai: Improved patient care and services were recorded at the Dubai Healthcare City (DHC) for 2015, even as the world’s largest free zone dedicated to health and wellness diversified its plans.
The DHC has begun negotiations with business partners for an integrated community which includes a private school that offers multi-lingual education for UAE residents.
“Because a stronger performance was recorded relative to last year – driven by new projects and developments – the outlook for 2016 is positive,” according to a statement which accompanied the release of the highlights of the “DHC Annual Operational Review 2015” on Sunday, ahead of the Arab Health Week (AHW) held from Jan 25 to 28.
DHC along with the UAE Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Dubai Health Authority are among the participants at the AHW that takes place at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Healthcare industry players from the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, US, Taiwan, Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, the Netherlands, India, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Pakistan, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey are also participating.
The “DHC Annual Operational Review 2015” was cloven into strategic achievements, regulation, education, investment, and community.
Under the “strategic achievements”, it was noted that DHC signed a memoranda of understanding with the UAE MoH and the Mediclinic Middle East for the enhancement of the knowledge and skills of the healthcare professionals through professional as well as academic programmes.
The Patient Satisfaction Survey 2014-2015 showed that “nine of 10 patients are satisfied with staff and healthcare practitioners across all categories and willing to recommend the facilities they had visited to their family and friends.”
Regulation through licensure requirements for all DHC operators and professionals showed an increase of 886 qualified and certified service providers as well as practitioners from 4,534 to 5,400.
It was recorded that 1,000 healthcare professionals from around the world availed of the online accreditation exams, while specialities rendered at the free zone also rose from 90 to 152.
Complaints comprised of miscommunication and negligence, medical errors and inappropriate or incorrect treatments, went down by 11 cases from 51 to 40.
According to the report, “DHCR (Dubai Healthcare City-Regulation) ensures standards are maintained through a series of ongoing requirements and inspections with total on-site inspections conducted up by 122 from 30 in 2014 to 152 in 2015.
It was in the last quarter of 2015 when the DHC introduced its Home Healthcare Service in order to provide optimum care and services to patients which may be taken care of within the comforts of their homes.
With this, the report also stated that among the drivers of improving patient care and services was the introduction or implementation of the new health insurance law, the authorisation given to DHC-R to register healthcare facilities, approve and monitor healthcare services pricing and prices as well as the issuance and renewal of pharmacies and pharmacists within its area of responsibility.
The DHC hosted at least 10 professional development conferences that included the “Destination Medicine” by the Al Jalila Foundation. This provided Emirati school children the experience of how to be a medical specialist within the confines of a clinic, a hospital and even disaster areas as well as war zones.
FREE DENTAL SERVICES: Community relations between the medical education institutions within the DHC were also enhanced when the Hamdan Bin Mohammed College of Dental Medicine-Dubai Dental Clinic rendered free services to 2,000 labourers through the Oral Hygiene Initiative of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council in collaboration with the Permanent Committee for Labour Affairs in Dubai.
DHC is divided into two phases and on the investments side it was noted that by the end of 2015, clinical offerings were increased from 124 in 2014 to 159 in 2015, comprising hospitals, out-patient medical centres and diagnostic laboratories accredited by the Joint Commission International.
Two additional non-clinical support services were set up in 2015 bringing the total number of these investments from 190 to 192.
The DHC vice chairperson and executive director, Dr Raja Al Gurg, said: “One of the fundamental findings from our year-on-year performance is that, as a business model, we have been dynamic and responsive to patient needs and to changes in market conditions.”- Courtesy The Gulf Today