The Director General of the Health Authority in Dubai, Humaid Mohammed Al Qatami, confirmed that the Authority has detected misleading health advertisements, published in public places, or through social media, warning that these ads carry illogical and improper treatment claims, in order to deceive those seeking treatment, This is not legally acceptable, stressing the need to put a radical end to it.
Dr. Al-Qatami, during a panel discussion organized by Professor and Consultant of Dermatology at the UAE University, Dr. Ibrahim Galadari, recently pointed out the Authority's keenness to communicate with the concerned authorities and the competent authorities to adopt health announcements, to stop any excesses in this regard, especially as the exaggerations that appear in advertising Social, negatively affect the safety of patients seeking treatment.
Al-Qatami explained that the Authority intends to coordinate with the relevant authorities to limit the spread of misleading health advertisements in public places and social media, in order to protect patients from fraud, and to detect deception by some health centers and doctors, by enacting more legislation and laws governing the private health sector.
He continued: «There are legislation, laws and regulations governing the private health sector in Dubai and the UAE. There are also medical liability laws. The Authority is keen to follow up, evaluate and control private medical facilities », stressing that the Authority does not hesitate to close any facility that violates the law, regulations or professional assets applicable locally and globally, pointing out that it recently closed a hospital for three months to reconcile conditions.
During the session, Al-Qatami pointed out that the past year witnessed a radical transformation in the promotion of investments in the health sector, where a specialized department was created in the new organizational structure of the Authority, “Investment Management and Partnership with the Private Sector” to facilitate and manage the investment process and investors' affairs. His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, also approved the investment strategy in the health sector in Dubai. He added: “The Authority has developed a guide for investors, aimed at growing investments and business, in addition to clear strategic initiatives to enhance competitiveness and encourage investments.” Al-Qatami said that the private health sector is growing steadily, and that the number of private health facilities in Dubai rose from 2,871 in 2015 to 3401 in this year, and the number of health workers - doctors, supportive medical groups and technicians - increased from 30,851 people in 2015. 2015 to 40,600 people this year. Al-Qatami said during the session that the Authority has 13 centers of high-quality primary health care and services, including VIP service centers, 24-hour services and high-quality specialized services. He said that the Authority provides, through these centers, home medical services for senior citizens and people of determination, with the best smart equipment. It also benefits from its home services, some health conditions that prevent the conditions of access to services available in hospitals.
Al-Qatami revealed in an earlier interview, that the Authority has promising future projects, including centers of excellence global specialized in heart disease, cancer and transplantation. He stressed that the Authority will continue to focus on providing medical facilities with artificial intelligence techniques, and is currently preparing to launch a «doctor for every citizen» initiative.