Most certainly, the status of healthcare in a particular country is one of the major issues that one has got to consider when visiting or relocating to another country.  Indeed, no one should have to go through the horrors of being stricken with a potentially life-threatening impediment whilst visiting a country with a dire lack of medical facilities and a huge language barrier with the medical practitioners.

Fortunately, the status of the healthcare in Dubai has no traces of this nightmarish scenario.  Billions of dollars have been invested to improve on the emirate’s healthcare services and infrastructure, and the government’s efforts to do so were met with tremendous success.  Today, the most developed emirate of the United Arab Emirates now boasts of healthcare services and facilities that are considered at par with the standards set-up by other developed countries. 

Modern and state-of-the art medical and diagnostic facilities have become standards in these healthcare centers, whilst their roster of physicians and medical practitioners are highly-qualified with a training certificate or two from the world’s most prestigious medical establishments.  And with three state-run hospitals and plenty more private hospitals and clinics found all over the emirate, accessibility to immediate and reliable healthcare services does not pose as a huge hurdle for either any local or expatriate resident in Dubai.

In general, the government provides its citizens free or low-cost public healthcare services governed by the Department of Health and Medical Services (DOMS).  Free healthcare services used to be available for expatriates as well.  However, as approximately 75% of the state-owned hospitals’ patient burden constitute of expatriates, the government withdrew the incentive and provided subsidized services instead. 

By 2004, only foreign patients required for admission in public hospitals were accepted, with discounts limited to just room rates.  Other medical services while in the hospital are unsubsidized.  Yet in the event of a life-threatening medical emergency, services in these hospitals are given free of charge regardless of the patient’s resident status.

As the public healthcare service in Dubai is only open for foreigners in the event of emergency cases, foreigners are advised to acquire a private medical insurance to cover private medical treatment.  Fortunately, the government of Dubai has announced in May 2007 that a unified one-cover-all health insurance system would be enforced by the beginning of January 2008. 

Under the unified cover-one-all health insurance system, all companies would have to insure their UAE national and expatriate employees, whilst tourists with visa for two months or more are also obliged to take in a health insurance.  This initiative is made to push the government healthcare services at par with the standards and facilities found in most private hospitals.  This is also in preparation for the Dubai Department of Health and Medical Services’ mandate to obligate all healthcare facilities in the emirate to attain international accreditation by 2010 or face closure.

The unrelenting focus of the government to improve the emirate’s healthcare services is geared towards making Dubai a premiere destination for medical tourism.  Aside from the aforementioned reforms, the government had also established healthcare zones, obliged healthcare facilities to adopt international procedures, and encouraged the private sector to engage in efforts to upgrade the emirate’s healthcare system.

One such much-anticipated project engaged in meeting the emirate’s goal to become a world-class medical tourism destination is the Dubai Health Care City (DHCC).  The Dubai Health Care city is a first healthcare free zone that is envisioned to become an internationally recognized choice destination for accessing excellent healthcare and an integrated center for excellent clinical and wellness services, and advanced medical education and research.  It aims to be at the forefront of healthcare delivery and medical research through its two complementary communities.

First of these is the Medical Community.  The said community is designed to provide the region convenient access to conventional yet quality healthcare services by grouping together general and specialty hospitals with diagnostic laboratories, hospice, rehabilitation and long-term care facilities, physicians’ offices, and ambulatory surgical centers. 

The Medical Community is also home to medical, dental, nursing, and allied health schools, which offers Continuous Medical Education (CME) and postgraduate courses.  A central component of this community is the Harvard Medical School Dubai Center (HMSDC) for research and postgraduate medical education.  The said institution offers fellowship and observership programs for doctors.  Another vital component of this community is the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research (DHFMR), which aims to become a leader in regionally- relevant basic science research.

As it is primarily aimed to promote Dubai as a premiere destination for medical tourism, DHSS also provides complementary services for the convenience of its customers.  Some of these complementary support features include a one-stop-shop for their foreign customers’ legal requirements, such as visa and other government documentations, a wide selection of retail shops and dining establishments, and a 5-star hotel dedicated for the patient’s families, visiting physicians, and students.

The second component community, called the Wellness Community, is primarily aimed to provide complementary medical services through alternative methods and settings, as well as to provide supportive long-term care services.  In order to achieve this, the Wellness Community will house additional world-class hospitals, as well as conventional specialty clinics and day-surgery centers.  An alternative setting for those aforementioned out-patient facilities is the medical villas.   These beautifully landscaped cluster of villas will house together conventional and alternative specialty clinics set-up adjacent to a large wellness medical resort, complementing the spa centers that are also found within the Wellness Community.

Alternative medicine centers will also be set-up within the community which greatly appeals to business executives and medical tourists.  Alternative medical services, such as acupuncture, chiropractic services, osteopathy, physiotherapy, regimented diet and exercise, medically supervised health programs, and consultation with specialists on regionally specific ailments will be offered.  Specialized facilities for patients requiring long-term care will also be put up within the community.  These facilities include nursing homes, post-trauma rehabilitation centers, and terminally-ill medical care facilities. 

A final key feature of the Wellness Community are two hotels and a residential area, which is aimed for the provision of short-tern and long-term accommodations for the patients’ families and DHCC healthcare providers.

The opening of the Dubai Health Care City in 2010 will not only determine the emirate’s prominence as a medical tourism destination in the Gulf region, but will also help improve the doctor-patient ratio in the city.  Incidentally, the rising cost of medical services in Dubai had been brought on by the insufficient number of health professionals and medical centers in relation with the city’s burgeoning population.  It has been estimated that the clinic/hospital-patient ratio in Dubai is 1:78,000.

Aside from the rising medical costs in Dubai, its population is not quite as healthy as one would expect from a region that has 6% of its GDP contributed by the healthcare industry.  Recent statistics has shown that there had been sharp increases in the occurrence of lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases.  Although Dubai is healthier than the Asian subcontinent in terms of infectious diseases, the increasing occurrence of mental and societal ailments paints a far less convincible picture of the population’s perfect health. 

In addition, certain ailments and syndromes have been prevalently observed in expatriates.  Some of these observed health conditions include alcoholism, respiratory-related problems, heatstroke, and sunburn.  The Alcoholism is thought to have been brought on by depression, while respiratory-related problems are often triggered by sand and dust particles in the air due to the continuous construction in the city.  Heat strokes are brought on by the region’s hot climate, which could reach up to 50°C.

Fortunately, the government is taking a proactive approach in dealing with these difficulties through education, regulations, and the implementation of reforms.  With a committed government and the state’s commitment to provide patient-centered services, together with its rich resource of quality healthcare service providers, Dubai is well on its way on establishing itself on a formidable position as the Gulf’s foremost location for health and wellness.