Dubai has 33 physicians for every 10,000 people which has exceeded the national level of 27, said a senior official from the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) while giving an update on the authority's Dubai Health Strategy 2021.
The doctor-patient ratio is soon approaching the level achieved by Sweden (39), considered among the best in the world, said Fatima Abbas, director of Health Policy and Strategy at the DHA.
The life expectancy of Dubai residents has also reached almost 80 years exceeding that of the USA and approaching the UK and Japan.
As the Dubai Health Strategy 2021 completes almost two years of implementation, the DHA experts will evaluate its success in improving healthcare services in the emirate and understand its impact on the overall health sector. "The DHA is also working on revamping its health governance structure, which will result in increased accountability of hospitals and will further improve patient safety and experience," she said.
The DHA's Dubai Health Strategy has 2016-2021 has three key goals.
"These are: drive innovation and ensure governance, protect and improve population health and ensure patient happiness by providing world-class health services. Our focus is to work across a continuum of care, starting from early prevention and detection of disease all the way to rehabilitation."
In the last two years, Fatima said that the DHA accomplished several key tasks keeping in mind the top three goals and all the initiatives of the strategy, divided into immediate, medium and long-term goals.
Other targets achieved under innovation and governance, Fatima said, were the implementation of easier medical regulation processes. "The total number of health professional licences increased by 15 per cent and the number of facilities licensed increased by about 27 per cent," she said.
The authority also adopted new health technologies such as telemedicine, RoboDoc and 3D printing, with the aim of fostering innovation across the continuum of care in addition to smart applications.
"In the electronic medical record front, we have completed implementation of records across all DHA facilities. Recently, Rashid and Dubai Hospital and 12 DHA PHC's were felicitated with an award for achieving EMRAM stage 6 of patient data maturity," she said.
Explaining achievements under protecting and improving population health, Fatima said that as of now, 92 per cent of hospitals in Dubai have completed their international accreditation, a significant jump from 86 per cent in 2015.
Achievements under patient happiness and provision of world-class healthcare services include insurance coverage for all Dubai residents. "This has been a direct source of patient happiness and today, 98 per cent of Dubai residents have been covered under the mandatory health insurance scheme," she added.
Fatima said that innovation is a key part of the DHA strategy. "The DHA is currently establishing it's innovation centre and partnering with world leaders in healthcare and pharmaceutical industries to work on addressing the region's healthcare challenges, utilising the best research minds and people's capabilities of the region, and leveraging the best practices," she added.
In addition to this, the DHA has been a vital member of Dubai Future Foundation Accelerator programme for the past three cycles, and managed to partner up with a number of rising companies on implementing innovations in the healthcare delivery.

Dr Mohammed Al Redha, director of Organisational Transformation, said: "The DHA has already utilised a number of technologies and advancements in its day-to-day healthcare delivery, such as 3D printing for prosthetics, dentures, and cosmetics," he said.

The DHA has also implemented Telemedicine and is now implementing the RoboDoc, which enables specialists to give their expert opinion to cases in remote areas, or for patients who are less mobile. "Using smart technology and innovation is a priority for the DHA and in the years to come, patients, medical professionals and the overall health sector will see the direct benefits of such initiatives," he added.