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The Dubai Health Authority, DHA, today announced the launch of the 1st Dubai International Medical Tourism Forum, which will be held on 20th and 21st February, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council.
The forum, themed "Reimagining Experience", will discuss the latest trends in health tourism, methodologies to ensure patient protection, patient insurance, ways to enhance patient experience, as well as strategies to create an overall environment that fosters medical tourism.
Speaking at a press conference, the Authority said that it has made significant progress in achieving its strategic objectives related to attracting more than 500,000 health tourists by 2020 in the light of its achievements in infrastructure of health facilities, upgrading medical services, and providing a healing environment.
Humaid Al Qutami, Chairman of the Board and Director-General of DHA, said, "In line with the vision of our leaders, the DHA is working towards developing a robust medical tourism sector in Dubai. In 2016, Dubai witnessed an overall growth of 9-10 percent in the number of medical and health tourists in Dubai.
"The emirate received 326,649 international medical tourists. Revenue generated from international patients was worth over AED1 billion, reinforcing the growing contribution of the sector to the national GDP. Dubai’s attractive location along with the availability of high quality medical professionals and technology has enabled the city to build a strong and favourable platform to build its medical tourism capabilities. We are constantly working on developing this sector keeping in mind patient safety, high quality health services and excellent patient experience."
Dr. Layla Al Marzouqi, Director of Health Tourism Council, said, "Dubai’s efforts are aimed at easing the entire patient journey. Today, Dubai is able to appeal to a wider audience who may be on the lookout for more wellbeing-related treatments in line with international benchmarks."
"The objective is to provide patients with a unique experience, the highest medical service standards using state-of-the-art technology accompanied by highly specialized and educated staff," she added.
Dubai’s strategy for health tourism includes a charter of patient's rights and responsibilities with which medical tourists can understand their rights before arriving in Dubai for healthcare. Additionally, DHA has created a medical complaints procedure for anyone with a medical related complain for health professional or facility in Dubai. The process has been designed to address issues based on the level of severity, and provide families with a clean timetable for resolution.
The Health Tourism Council continues its efforts to enable Dubai to become a global health tourism destination and a gateway to the finest medical experts and premier accredited healthcare facilities, while providing a unique experience to visitors in the iconic city of Dubai. Dubai has become the first in medical tourism destination in the region and 16th globally.
40 regional and international experts will participate in the forum, which will include eight interactive sessions, 23 specialised lectures and a special summit for ambassadors and diplomats
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