‘TREMENDOUS’ Investment Opportunities in Emirate’s Health Sector

Dubai’s new, far-reaching health care strategy will generate myriad openings for investors across the sector, with medical tourism, e-services and specialised-hospital expansion just some of the segments ripe for development, Humaid Al-Qatami, the Chairman and Director-General of Dubai Health Authority (DHA) told Oxford Business Group (OBG).

Al-Qatami, who was previously the Minister of Education and Health, explained that the Dubai Health Strategy 2021 had been developed taking account of both “strengths and gaps” in the current services available.

The initiative was presented by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in late January. It takes the form of a five-year roadmap for improving the quality and cost effectiveness of health services in the emirate, through public and private sector collaboration.

A full-length interview with Al-Qatami will appear in The Report: Dubai 2016, OBG’s forthcoming report on the emirate’s economy. The publication will contain a detailed, sector-by-sector guide for investors, including a wide-ranging chapter on Dubai’s health sector.

Key features of the “updated” Dubai Health Strategy 2021 include a sharper focus on prevention, health and lifestyle, smart health care and governance, he said. 

The initiative also builds on Dubai’s efforts in recent years to boost the part played by the private sector in health care provision, and in particular via the full implementation of compulsory medical insurance in the emirate. 

Al-Qatami said the scheme had done “much to transform health care in the emirate”. He explained that aside from providing many residents with health coverage for the first time and increasing the coverage of others, the medical insurance scheme had facilitated the compilation of valuable information.

“All health insurance transactions go through the system, which provides us with behavioural data that we can analyse to plan specific health policies that will directly improve the performance of the health sector, leading to better patient outcomes as a result,” he noted.

Al-Qatami also highlighted the “tremendous opportunity for investment” in e-health initiatives, which he described as “vital” for the growth and development of the health sector. Openings, he said, were emerging for companies operating in the supply of electronic medical records, training in coding and health informatics and smart application development.

At the heart of the strategy lies Dubai’s bid to carve a niche as a regional and international destination for medical tourism by boosting health visitor numbers from 135,000 in 2014 to 500,000 by 2020. “The private sector is our key partner in the medical tourism initiative and we are working together to implement it,” Al-Qatami told OBG. 

Dubai envisages the opening of 22 new healthcare facilities – 18 private and four public hospitals – in the coming years. Pharmaceutical, research and wellness centres will offer further opportunities for related real estate development, Al-Qatami noted. 

The Report: Dubai 2016 will be a vital guide to the many facets of the emirate's economy , including its macroeconomics, infrastructure, banking and other sectoral developments. The publication will feature contributions from leading personalities, including Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. Other representatives interviewed include Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, the Minister of State for Financial Affairs, Princess Haya bint Hussein, the Chairperson of Dubai Healthcare City Authority and David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The report will be available in print and online.