(Dubai & Abu Dhabi) - 12 November to 14 November 2017 is UAE eHealth Week. Since the 2016 conference edition, healthcare authorities have been creating plans to achieve the UAE Cabinet's Goal of a Unified Medical Record by 2021. In response, private sector healthcare providers have also ignited investments in health IT to enable digital patient records.

"These initiatives paired with healthcare payment reform in Dubai have touched off the biggest transformation of UAE healthcare since 2006," commented Jeremy Bonfini, Executive Vice President of HIMSS International. Bonfini added, "The HIMSS Analytics survey of UAE hospitals shows marked improvement in digitization which will be expanding to outpatient facilities and regional health information exchange. We expect additional announcements and accomplishments to be announced during the opening of UAE eHealth Week on 12 November."

While each hospital and health authority has a different approach, the overarching goal is to ensure that the right information is available at the right time to improve the health of patients and citizens. The National Unified Medical Record project led by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention has a key focus on population health. At UAE eHealth Week, health information exchange will be examined on multiple levels: Across the GCC, within the UAE public sector and among private sector practitioners.

Professional and technical standards organizations have also snapped into action to put in place the infrastructure to build the capacity for major healthcare IT projects. This includes technical testing and certification programs. HIMSS will be hosting the CPHIMS review course on 12 and 13 November, to guide healthcare professionals towards CPHIMS certification.

Apart from CPHIMS, standards such as HL7 are moving the industry forward like never before. Dr. Osama El Hassan, Vice President of the Emirates Health Informatics Society and the Head of eHealth, Dubai Health Authority said, "The launch of Health Level 7 (HL7) in the UAE brings a new set of tools to developers and healthcare organizations. Secure and reliable messaging in healthcare is essential to confidence and is critical in supporting information exchanges in the UAE. This will be discussed at length at UAE eHealth Week."

UAE eHealth Week will also launch new professional groups on the second day. The formation of Women in Health IT, an exclusive GCC Healthcare CIO group and a Medical Informatics mentoring and training program will offer opportunities for health professionals to reach their full potential.

"Throughout my 40 years in healthcare, I have had the privilege of working with several excellent leaders, many of them women. A strong, confident woman can hold her own any day, especially in healthcare, where there are many women in leadership positions. I look forward to the launch of these professional groups so that we can continue to provide guidance to all professionals in health IT and help them excel in this field," said Donna Lunn, Chief Information Officer, Mediclinic Middle East, UAE. Lunn is amongst a stellar line-up of over 25 speakers at UAE eHealth Week.

After the conclusion of the first two days of the Conference in Dubai, the UAE eHealth Week opens up in Abu Dhabi on 14 November. Abu Dhabi hosts one of the most mature EMR implementations in the UAE. A key priority in Abu Dhabi is to reduce unnecessary tests and procedures to improve quality and reduce costs. Private sector hospitals will also be invited to assess their readiness for Health Information Exchange in Abu Dhabi and beyond.



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