The Dubai Healthcare City Authority, DHCA, the governing body of the Dubai Healthcare City, DHCC, free zone, and Steward Health Care International, one of the largest physician-led, privately-held hospital operators in the United States, today announced plans to evaluate potential areas of collaboration in relation to the delivery of healthcare services in the DHCC free zone.

In line with the UAE Vision 2021 that aims to transform the UAE into one of the most innovative in the world, within the health sector, DHCA will explore improvements in areas including primary care; individualised care delivery models to reduce high-cost interventions; and key indicators such as average length of stay and bed occupancy.

The partnership was signed by Omar Oumeish, Chief Operating Officer of the DHCA, and Armin Ernst, President of Steward, in the presence of senior management from both parties, in Dubai Healthcare City.

Speaking about the global collaboration, Oumeish said, "Strategic partnerships and cooperation agreements with global institutions have been the cornerstone of our success, charting DHCC’s growth since its founding 16 years ago. We are keen to continue to leverage international expertise and identify new mechanisms to stimulate growth for the DHCC free zone, and build on its competitive advantage."

DHCC has become a hub of specialised healthcare including organ transplantation with two of the four licensed health facilities for transplantation in the UAE located in the free zone. As of 2018, hospitals, outpatient medical centres and diagnostic laboratories in DHCC offer more than 150 plus active specialties with licensed professionals. In total, the free zone recognizes more than 500 specialties including medical, nursing, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and dental.

Speaking about the partnership, Dr Armin Ernst, President of Steward Health Care International, explained that innovation was at the forefront of the Steward model. He said, "As a physician-led organisation, we are constantly working to find innovative, cutting-edge ways of treating our patients and improving the quality of care delivered. Steward’s award-winning model has been a great success in the United States, and we are excited to be teaming up with DHCA to design a model of care which exceeds the expectations of all those seeking care in Dubai Healthcare City."

The partnership marks Steward’s first presence in the Middle East after expanding operations outside the United States in 2018.