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Accreditation: Making The Leap From Ambition To Reality

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Ashraf Ismail, MD, MPH, CPHQManaging Director, Middle EastJoint Commission International

22 - 23 October 2014, Dubai, UAE

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UAE Healthcare Sector

Witnessed rapid development over the past few years

Attracted major international healthcare players in the

market

Growth of smaller health care clinics and ambulatory

centers

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o The region is building large medical cities and complexes,

with billions of dollars of investments lined up, to not only o Raise the supply of medical infrastructure but alsoo Raise the quality of healthcare services

o Governments’ increasing investments in technological

advancements and health awareness

o Conti..

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UAE Healthcare Sector

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Strong medical tourism industry

UAE is the second-largest GCC healthcare services market

& is expected to be the fastest growing markets, going

forward.

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UAE Healthcare Sector

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Making The Leap From Ambition To Reality

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Role Of Government & Regulatory Bodies

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His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,

Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler

of DubaI urged stakeholders in the public and private

healthcare sector to unify their efforts to develop the

medical services, construct a quality healthcare

system and provide best services

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As laid out in the seven-year UAE National Agenda announced in JanuaryBy 2020, only accredited healthcare providers will be allowed to operate in the UAE

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MoH facilities across Emirates opt for JCI

accreditation

President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is keen on providing state-of-the-art healthcare services that ensure the wellbeing of all UAE residents.

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Vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Seeking international accreditations for the

health sector of Dubai is in line with the

vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed

Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and

Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai

as envisaged in the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015.

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Specific Initiatives Of DHA

o Promote international accreditation for all public or private healthcare facilities

o Strengthen building standards and introduce international best-practice to the design, construction and physical environment of healthcare facilities– DHA Published guidelines for the Planning,

Design, Commissioning and Construction of the Health Facilities

o DHA in collaboration with the JCI conducted the 1st Regional Conference for Sharing Best Practices in Implementing JCI Standards

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o In the UAE, JCI Accreditation is a goal set by Health Authority-Abu Dhabi (HA-AD) for all hospital providers in the emirate

o HAAD Health Regulations have been drafted in collaboration with international healthcare experts including JCI to help drive compliance and improve quality and cost-effectiveness across the system

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Health Authority-Abu Dhabi

Vision

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UAE Ministry of Health

o One of the Strategic Goal of MOH is to

Deliver health services to UAE

community as per International

standards

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UAE Vision 2021

The Joint Commission International (JCI) was appointed

by DHCC to accredit hospitals operating within DHCC.

This selection demonstrates the commitment by DHCC to

provide safe and high-quality care.

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Accreditation : Ambition to Reality Accreditation : Ambition to Reality

Human Resources

Human Resources

For Improving Quality & Safety, Healthcare Organizations invested in

LeadershipLeadership InfrastructureInfrastructure

Building, Equipment &

Supplies

Building, Equipment &

Supplies

Safety & Quality Culture

Safety & Quality Culture

Operating Systems

Operating Systems

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UAE made a great leap in Improving quality and safety

of healthcare services

– Moving towards international accreditation for all

healthcare facilities

• Tremendous growth of international accreditation for

governmental and public organizations by JCI.

• UAE is No.1 country in the world that has the highest

number of accredited organizations

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Accreditation : Ambition to Reality

Accreditation : Ambition to Reality

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Distribution Of JCI Accredited Organizations in UAE

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Classification of Organizations Accredited by JCI in UAE

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Type of Accreditation

No of Organizations Accredited

Hospitals 52Laboratories

22Ambulatory Care Centers 11

CCPC 2

Ambulatory Care Network 2Primary Healthcare Centers 1Long Term care

1Medical Transport

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Classification Of Accredited Organizations in UAE

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Type of Organization No. Accredited

DHA Hospitals 3DHA Ambulatory care centers 2

DHCC CCPC Certified programs 1

SEHA Hospitals 6SEHA Ambulatory care centers 2

SEHA Primary care centers 1

MOH Hospitals 3Private Hospitals 40

Private Ambulatory Care Centers 8

MOI Ambulatory Care center 1

Private Clinical Laboratories 22

Private CCPC Certified Programs 1

Private Long Term Care Facility 1

Private Medical Transport Program 1

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Classification Of Accredited Organizations in UAE

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Major Challenges

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o The private and public healthcare providers suffer from a

chronic shortage and turnover of qualified medical staff

o Part of the challenge deals with compensation and

maintenance of competitive pay scales to attract top

healthcare professionals.

o The attraction/retention of staff is also hampered by a lack

of continuing education

Attraction, Retention And Development Of Qualified Healthcare Professionals

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Cost And Complexity Of Regulation Requirements And Licensing

o Healthcare sector suffers from a lack of standardization in

regulations across the countryo Inconsistencies in facilities and licensing of professionalso Limited staff mobility: doctors licensed in one Emirate are

restricted from working in others before issuing a local license, and licensing requirements are different

o Non uniform record-keeping of diseaseo Medical complaints managemento Cost of regulatory implementation - implementation of new

billing systems in Abu Dhabi based on DRG and E&M is very costly

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Quality And Standardization Of Services

Managing staff from different cultures, medical approaches and

practices and creating patient care standards that all the staff

can adopt is one of the major challenges

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Insurance Providers

Health insurance sector remains faced with a number of

pressing challenges including

Over-utilization Of Health Services

Over-prescription Of Drugs

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Outbound Medical Tourism

o UAE is one of the biggest markets for outbound

medical tourism in the Middle East

o High treatment cost are the main sources of UAE

outbound medical tourism

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Top 5 opportunities

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Specialty Care Centers

o Opportunities for medical providers in the UAE reside

in highly specialized care and centers of excellence

o Healthcare providers are increasingly differentiating

themselves by providing specializations that cover the

entire disease cycle from diagnosis to rehabilitation

Examples :Establishment of the Imperial College Diabetes Center, Dubai

Bones and Joint Center and Abu Dhabi Knee and Sports Center.

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Inbound Medical Tourism

o As per Deloitte‘s 2011 Survey of the UAE health care

sector, Dubai is considered a major medical

destination hub

o However Competition within the region is fierce with

other competing nations including Lebanon and

Jordan.

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Long-term Care Facilities

o There are currently very few long-term care facilities in the

UAE

o Demand for long term care facilities will grow due to growing

aging population and the explosion of chronic diseases

o Long term facilities should be set up to serve patients

requiring preventive, therapeutic and rehabilitative nursing

care services for non-acute, long-term conditions

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Home Care Services

o UAE government highly supports the development of

homecare services

o The Abu Dhabi government recently launched the “Al Bir

Wal Ehsan’ campaign that aims to provide homecare

services to elderly and chronic disease patients in the

emirate.

o Private providers have begun to open home care services

across the country

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Partnerships Between Healthcare Providers

Creating partnerships between healthcare providers will

improve quality of healthcare and patients’ access to

advanced medical equipment in the country

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It requires and will continue to require leadership commitment,

serious work, continuous improvement

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Ashraf Ismail, MD, MPH, CPHQManaging Director, Middle East RegionJoint Commission International