Health chiefs in Abu Dhabi have developed a new quality index aimed at driving up standards in the healthcare sector in the UAE capital.

Health Authority – Abu Dhabi (HAAD) will reveal details of the Abu Dhabi Healthcare Quality Index at the HAAD & MEED Middle East Patient Safety & Quality Congress 2015 which opens on Monday.

“The objective is a comprehensive and transparent quality framework that will be the first in the region and will build up and improve on the latest thinking on quality internationally,” said HAAD strategy director DrAsma Al Mannaei.

“We are looking in the longer-term to make this index available for any of our partner organisations in GCC and beyond to enable benchmarking to drive continuous improvement.”

Al Mannaei said the new index will initially focus on hospitals, but clinics and other healthcare facilities will be added later.

“The framework will define a uniform set of globally-informed standards that will be used to evaluate providers in all aspects of their quality performance,” said Al Mannaei. “The final framework will specify quality standards and performance targets to ensure consistent application by regulators and providers alike and guide quality improvement efforts in the future.”

Dr Omar Najim, senior advisor at HAAD, added: “Abu Dhabi is focusing on improving the whole healthcare system to deliver the highest quality that is both accessible to its population and sustainable for the future.

“The HAAD vision is a healthier Abu Dhabi. To achieve that, the authority has developed a healthcare sector strategy and a key component of this strategy is ensuring a high quality of care for all. Quality of care is a core component of providing healthcare in general.”

Benchmarks for measuring quality include the standardised mortality rate, timeliness of care, patient satisfaction and measures of processes.

For original article: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/abu-dhabi-launch-quality-index-raise-healthcare-standards-592167.html

• Friday, 3 July 2015 1:31 AM

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has announced the formation of a medical council aimed at improving quality across healthcare services in the emirate.

Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qatami, chairman of DHA, issued a decree to form the new medical council which will be chaired by DrShawqiKhoory, board member of the health authority.

The council will execute the health plans and policies that are approved by the DHA, will identify challenges and present effective solutions for the same, a statement said.

The council will form specialised work teams and will prepare and approve medical policies and procedures that will be implemented throughout the DHA hospitals and health centres to ensure uniformity across DHA health facilities, the statement added.

The council will review and adopt the best global trends in healthcare keeping in mind DHA principles, it said.

More than one million patients were treated at Dubai Health Authority (DHA)-run hospitals and specialty centres in 2014.

The total number of patients that visited Dubai, Rashid, Latifa and Hatta hospital as well as specialty centres including Dubai Diabetes Centre, Thalassemia Centre, Airport Medical Centre and Dubai Gynecology Centre were 1,102,336.

For Original Publication: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/dubai-sets-up-medical-council-improve-healthcare-quality-598333.html

More than one million patients were treated at Dubai Health Authority (DHA)-run hospitals and specialty centres in 2014, it has been announced.

The total number of patients that visited Dubai, Rashid, Latifa and Hatta hospital as well as specialty centres including Dubai Diabetes Centre, Thalassemia Centre, Airport Medical Centre and Dubai Gynecology Centre were 1,102,336, a statement said.

Dr Ahmad Bin Kalban, CEO of Hospital Services Sector at the Dubai Health Authority, said: “This is a substantial number and includes outpatients, accident and emergency cases, walk-in visits as well as admissions.

“Our aim is to serve the medical needs of the community in Dubai and to provide high-quality services across several specialties as well as to focus on certain specialisedcentres to ensure patients receive high-quality care across all fields of medicine in Dubai.”

Of the total of patients, 35 percent visited Dubai Hospital, 30 percent visited Rashid Hospital, 16 percent visited Latifa Hospital and 10 percent visited Hatta Hospital. The remaining 9 percent of patients visited the specialty centres.

Bin Kalban said: “The total number of outpatient visits across these facilities were 596,953, number of accident and emergency cases were 4,24,880 and the remaining 80,503 were admissions.”

He added DHA will continue to expand its health services to keep up with population growth. The projects will enhance geographical access to healthcare. As per the DHA’s Health Strategy 2013-2025, DHA will build new hospitals and will have 40 primary healthcare centres by 2025.

Currently the expansion of the trauma centre is ongoing – 60 percent of the expansion is complete and the centre will be ready in June.The expansion will add 160 beds and will cost AED161 million.

Al Jalila Children’s Specialty hospital is another project that will be operational in 2015, he said.

For original article: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/more-than-1m-patients-treated-in-2014-says-dubai-health-authority-578768.html