Dubai: The Dubai Health Insurance Corporation aims to ensure quality health insurance for Dubai’s citizens, residents and visitors, protect the rights of policyholders, and design health insurance packages, said Director General of Dubai Health Authority (DHA) on Sunday.
The announcement comes days after Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council issued Executive Council Resolution No. (18) of 2018 approving the new organisational structure of Dubai Health Authority (DHA).
The new structure includes two new entities, the Dubai Healthcare Corporation and Dubai Health Insurance Corporation. It also includes three new strategic sectors, Strategy and Corporate Development, Health Regulation, and Joint Corporate Support Services.
Humaid Al Qutami, Director General of the DHA told reporters on Sunday that there was a need to have a separate corporation for health insurance given the scope of service and the vast number of people it affects.
“The health insurance sector has a Dh7 billion market and more than 50 health insurance companies. Plans are underway to extend the health insurance coverage to include visitors to Dubai,” he said.
Al Qutami pointed out that more than 98 per cent of the population now has access to essential health services.
“The corporation will help regulate the insurance market, create a conducive environment for growth and help maximise benefits to customers as well as protect their interest. At the same time, it will also keep the interest of the insurance companies and Third Party Administrators in mind,” he explained.
The corporation will also license and regulate health insurance companies, claims management companies, insurance brokers and service providers.
It is responsible for managing Dubai Government’s health insurance programme and issuing reports and recommendations related to health insurance and health economics.
“The insurance sector is a robust sector and the establishment of the corporation will not only benefit stakeholders but also positively contribute to the economy of the emirate,” said Al Qutami.
He pointed out the DHA is working on revamping the health governance structure, which will result in increased accountability of hospitals and further improve patient safety and experience.
It aims to uphold the provision of high quality health care services through two main practices; transparency and accountability.
“We have achieved a big leap in the number of health facilities that are internationally accredited. Currently, 96 per cent of hospitals in Dubai have completed their international accreditation, which is a significant jump from 80 per cent in 2015,” said Al Qutmai.
The total number of health professional licences has also increased by 15 per cent along with the number of licensed facilities by about 27 per cent.
There are 33 physicians per 10,000 of the population, which exceeds the national level (27), approaching the level achieved by Sweden (39).
Al Qutami also referred to the launch of a new structure for each DHA hospital taking into account several factors including the area of their specialisation.
He added that the structure for each DHA hospital would be announced in September this year.
“Health services have its own nuances depending on the type of provision of care and thus individualised plans in terms of structure and functioning … the new structure will lead to provision of specialised care and enhance hospital management functions as well,” added Al Qutami.
Medical sector in Dubai:
— Dubai has 31 hospitals and around 3,700 private health clinics
— Hospitals and clinics have around 35,000 employees
— Private sector sees more than 8 million patient visits annually
— DHA has 40 health facilities (DHA hospitals, primary health care centres, medical fitness and specialised health care centres)
— DHA health facilities have around 13,000 employees
— DHA health facilities receive around 4 million customers annually
