Dubai: The Dubai Health Care City (DHCC) has introduced online licensing exams for physicians, doctors and dentists, streamlining and simplifying the licensing system.
The new framework will now allow all health-care specialists covered under its purview from more than 30 countries from Eastern Europe, South Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Mena region to appear for the online exams which, if cleared, will make them eligible to apply for a DHCC licence. Countries like India and Egypt which were not previously included in the list have now been covered under the exams.
The latest move is part of a phased plan to strengthen DHCC’s regulatory standards in line with the agreement signed by UAE health authorities for the unification of medical licensing, and in line with the Dubai Smart Government initiative.
Commenting on the licensing framework, Marwarn Abedin, CEO of DHCC, said that the “global health-care landscape is evolving rapidly and, as we aim to meet the growing demand for quality healthcare in the region, we constantly look for new talent in a number of medical fields. The online examinations and the updated list of countries reflect this growth.”
The DHCC has partnered with renowned testing provider Prometric to ensure that the online licensing exam follows stringent check-in procedures that require biometric (fingerprint) capture. The provider operates a network of secure test centres in more than 160 countries.
The licensing framework takes into account the growing demand for certain specialities. The new country list is based on parameters of health-care systems, specialisation, evidence-based practice and standards of medical education.
Dr Ramadan Ebrahim, Managing Director, Dubai Healthcare City Authority - Regulatory, spoke to Gulf News in detail about the online exams.
“Our objective is to provide patients with quality medical care and ensure their well-being through world-class standards. We are committed to licensing at par with the standards of existing businesses operating within the free zone,” he said.
“We have been cognisant of the need to review and update. We recognise that health-care professionals from the list of new countries offer quality skills and expertise in accordance with DHCC’s stringent set of medical standards. Each country has been studied for criteria including entry-level training, certification, accredited institutions, and the number of years a health professional undergoes postgraduate medical training.”
