The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has announced that it has developed a plan to promote telemedicine as part of its strategy, benefiting primarily emergency patients, the elderly and chronic diseases. The type of telemedicine was "retinal examination", "smart home care" and "smart headache clinics".

Al Busti explained to «Emirates Today» that «the concept of telemedicine based on the patient's access to medical and therapeutic services, and is in a place away from the doctor through one of the means of intelligent communication fast and high quality, which gives the patient the difficulty to get an appointment with the doctor Or specialist and waiting for him ».

Al-Busti said: "The Commission also did telemedicine at the headache clinics it established two years ago by relieving the pressure on the clinic by allowing family doctors to follow up on the patient's condition and communicating with the neurologists at Rashid Hospital in case of necessity. .

The headache clinic has served 328 patients since its opening in 2017, with 46 cases in the first year, 173 in 2018 and 109 cases from January this year until April. The Smart Head Clinic received two awards in 2018, And the Gold Award at the Stevie Business Innovation Innovation category in Medicine.

According to the authority, the idea of ​​a headache clinic is based on the best standards and medical practices in place worldwide, where people with headaches are treated in a single place with specialized medical specialties, advanced equipment and modern treatments. The team consists of the medical staff, including family medicine, neurology, physiotherapy and psychiatrists. The patient will be able to benefit from the services of the four specialties at the same time, in order to arrive at the optimal treatment for his condition.

Al-Busti added that telemedicine included elderly patients who do not allow their health to go to the hospital or health center. The idea of ​​the initiative is to provide medical and nursing services to the elderly, the caregivers, the widows and those unable to go to hospitals in their homes The medical team, consisting of a physician and nursing staff, is accompanied by all the necessary medical equipment, and the patient is provided with services at his home without the need to transfer him to any hospital.

The examination is intended to focus on patients with chronic diseases, especially diabetic patients. Pressure of the retina is a complication of patients with diabetes and high blood pressure. The delay of the diagnosis may affect the patient's eyes. In some cases, the patient may become blind. .

As a result, patients with diabetes will periodically undergo a retinal examination. After examining the results of the examination, each patient will receive the appropriate treatment according to his / her condition.

The cases that are discovered and are in advanced condition will receive a faster appointment for the eye doctor for the detailed examination, as well as for the treatment compared to the natural cases. In this way, the waiting time for cases requiring quick intervention is short. The patient receives timely treatment. The examination takes place at his health center and visits the family doctor. Who is following his case.

Reduce standby time

The telemedicine system aims to provide medical services to patients in record time, and to protect the patient from any complications that may result from delay in obtaining the appropriate treatment, in addition to documenting the patient's condition accurately and reducing the waiting time.