1. 6/25/2016 Arab Health Magazine
http://www.arabhealthmagazine.com/press-releases/2016/issue-3/industry-insight/ 1/5
(/)
 SUBSCRIBE NOW (/FORMS/SUBSCRIBE-TO-MAGAZINE/)
Search
 (/) / 2016 (http://www.arabhealthmagazine.com/press-releases/2016/)
/ Issue 3 (http://www.arabhealthmagazine.com/press-releases/2016/issue-3/)
Industry Insight - The Future of
Healthcare, Shaped in the UAE
 Michael Schelper, Chief Operating O cer Middle East &
Africa, Cerner Middle East
 2 May 2016
The UAE has always amazed the world with innovations, one-of-a-kind projects and unique
establishments. This is no di erent in the healthcare environment. The healthcare industry in the
Middle East experienced rapid change over the last few decades and the momentum in which
innovations have been established, increased profoundly in recent years. As Dubai has been
transformed from a pearl-diving village to an international hub that is connecting the East and the
West, so has the healthcare environment in the UAE changed from a rather rudimentary system to
one of the best in the world. A clear goal has been set with the Vision 2021 to take healthcare to the
next level by establishing preventive medicine in the UAE. This will ensure a longer, happier, and
healthier life for all of its citizens. The establishment of mandatory health insurance, that started in
2006 in Abu Dhabi, 2015 in Dubai, and is planned to be rolled out in the other Emirates, was an
essential cornerstone for improving the accessibility and availability of quality care. The overall
progress has particularly been impacted by the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015, which was launched in
2007 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. This plan focused on the
availability of quality healthcare. Following in the footsteps of these previous strategies, the Vision
2021 and the Dubai Strategic Plan (DSP) 2021 have, at its core, the well-being of the people in the
UAE. This in combination with recent trends in the Emirates, such as the establishment of the public-

2. 6/25/2016 Arab Health Magazine
http://www.arabhealthmagazine.com/press-releases/2016/issue-3/industry-insight/ 2/5
UAE. This in combination with recent trends in the Emirates, such as the establishment of the public-
private-partnerships law, the privatization of speci c government services, or the profound
realignment of the federal government to be prepared for driving the future of the UAE, is providing a
unique opportunity for healthcare to leapfrog many others in this space and shape the industry.
The Opportunity can be Categorised into Three Areas
1.People
2.Interoperability
3. Population Health Management
People: The UAE is continuing to improve its position in the worldwide economy, which already has
resulted in an increased in ow of regional and global top talent. Contributing factors for this trend are
the provision and promotion of an enhanced educational environment, public transportation
infrastructures, improved housing services for all residents, alongside a rich multicultural setting, a
breadth of cultural and entertainment options like parks, beaches, and a large variety of world-class
recreational facilities to promote a healthy lifestyle. UAE’s business hubs Abu Dhabi and Dubai are
already amongst the best cities to live in, in the world. This environment conjointly with a visionary
government that is serving its citizens, is forward-looking and proactively listening to the population
is the foundation for harnessing the talent, creativity and innovation-drive of its multicultural
workforce to drive the country, its society and economy forward. One has already seen a slowing
down of the transient nature of the expatriate labour who are now committing to a longer residence
and even retirement as well as feeling increasingly patriotic towards the UAE. This means long-term
healthcare will become much more important in the future.
Interoperability: Despite fundamentally increased automation in the various healthcare facilities,
health information is in most instances still residing in silos, be it in private or public sector entities.
With a visionary country and public sector leadership, a federal and local government that views
partnering with the private sector as a tremendous value add to achieve the set goals and to improve
the overall wellbeing of the UAE citizens, this consortium working together will allow the
leapfrogging of the healthcare industry and is the second cornerstone that needs to get established.
The National Uni ed Medical Record (NUMR) project is bringing the public and private sector
stakeholders together to realise the ambitious goals of the Vision 2021 in the country. Led by the
Ministry of Health of the UAE, other players such as public healthcare providers like the Abu Dhabi
Health Services Company (SEHA), Dubai Health Authority (DHA), and private healthcare are working
together with telecommunication providers and healthcare information vendors in order to establish
a shared medical record platform across the UAE. This will achieve the centralisation of essential
data and analytics for all UAE consumers of health information.
Population Health Management: Once information can ow freely, connecting everything that
matters, engaging the consumers and communities is the next consequent step and third
cornerstone towards a proactive population health management with standardised clinical

3. 6/25/2016 Arab Health Magazine
http://www.arabhealthmagazine.com/press-releases/2016/issue-3/industry-insight/ 3/5
TAGS:
SHARE:
UAE Vision 2021 (/press-releases/LifeSciencesMagazinesInnerTag.aspx?tag=UAE Vision 2021)
Health Management (/press-releases/LifeSciencesMagazinesInnerTag.aspx?tag=Health
Management)
RELATED ARTICLES
cornerstone towards a proactive population health management with standardised clinical
programmes and outcomes across the country. This is where the lines are getting blurred and a
symbiosis of ones’ private lifestyle, sporting activities, wearables, smart technology in a home, clinic,
hospital, city and even country setting is formed. With data from all of these diverse sources being
instantly available, evidence based recommendations can be provided, predictive and preventive
management of the population such as lifestyle related (diabetes, obesity, etc.), cardiovascular,
cancer, high risk or chronic disease patients can be done, medical research will get enriched, an
epidemiologic basis for preventative strategies can be created, and an overall continuous
advancement approach can get established in order to increase the quality of healthcare and the
health of the people, improve the safety and satisfaction of care provision, as well as to improve the
nancial performance of the overall system. Today it takes an average of 15 years for published
research to get into the hands of the doctors who use it, in tomorrow’s connected world, this could
be 15 minutes.
This is where everything comes together. Citizens striving for education and personal development,
while maintaining a healthy lifestyle are being provided with an environment where health
information can ow seamlessly, each and everyone can and has an urge to engage in the wellbeing
of oneself and the society. These citizens are being supported by a government that is driving
innovation and e ciencies by strategically partnering with the private sector in not only a smart clinic,
smart hospital, smart home, smart grid, smart city or smart health setting but in a smart country
environment. Visionary alignment of all stakeholders is key to achieve this. Given where we are now
in the country, this seems to become yet another time the UAE will amaze the world with innovative
ideas, turning a dream into reality.
CROSS POLLINATION: COULD THE UAE’S OIL AND GAS TALENT KICKSTART A MEDICAL
RESEARCH REVOLUTION? (/press-releases/2016/issue-3/cross-pollination/)
THE IMPERATIVE OF QUALITY IN ACHIEVING WORLD-CLASS HEALTHCARE (/press-
releases/2016/issue-3/the-imperative-of-quality-in-achieving-world-class-healthcare/)
()

4. 6/25/2016 Arab Health Magazine
http://www.arabhealthmagazine.com/press-releases/2016/issue-3/industry-insight/ 4/5
(http://www.healthychange.jobs/?
utm_source=internal_advert_16_ahmag&utm_medium=advert&utm_campaign=seeker&utm_content=home)
DIGITAL MAGAZINE
(http://www.arabhealthmagazine.com/digital-magazine/)
CONTACT US
We always welcome your feedback, topic suggestions and contributions to the magazine.
 Email: magazine@informa.com
 +971 43365161
FOLLOW US

(http://www.facebook.com/ArabHealth/)

(http://twitter.com/Arab_Health)

(http://www.linkedin.com/grp/home?
gid=3721994)

(http://www.youtube.com/user/ArabHealthExhibition)
()

5. 6/25/2016 Arab Health Magazine
http://www.arabhealthmagazine.com/press-releases/2016/issue-3/industry-insight/ 5/5
SUBSCRIBE
 SUBSCRIBE NOW (/FORMS/SUBSCRIBE-TO-MAGAZINE/)