UAE Ministry of Health & Prevention unveils direct appointment service on Smart Patient Portal

UAE, February 1, 2017- The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention has announced the launch of direct medical appointments booking through its Smart Patient Portal during its participation at Arab Health Exhibition and Congress 2017 which will run until February 2, 2017 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The move is in line with the Ministry’s efforts to offer world-class services to its customers to complement the shift towards smart governance.   

Available as a smartphone application on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store, the Smart Patient Portal is a protected site where a user can access his/her medical records to view laboratory tests, radiology reports, documents, medicines, vaccinations, health problems, and allergies. In addition, the user can check or cancel his/her upcoming appointments as well as add it to his/her own calendar. The medical file also includes a special communication feature which enables the patient to approach other doctors in healthcare centres for opinions or queries. The direct appointments service through the Smart Patient Portal was launched as a first stage in outpatient clinics.

Dr. Mohammad Salim Al Olama, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, said: “With the launch of its latest service, the Ministry continues to realise the directives of the leadership by implementing strategic federal government initiatives. The transition to smart services, the introduction of innovative solutions, and the use of modern technologies in medicine and healthcare ensure customers and dealers round-the-clock access to government services. The streamlining of functions to make them highly efficient and transparent is a major step towards meeting the needs and expectations of our customers.”

H.E. Awad Bin Saghir Al Ketbi, Undersecretary of the Ministry’s Support Services Sector, stated that the Ministry has a proactive strategy to implement the vision of the wise government to promote the well-being and good health of individuals and the community by providing comprehensive and distinctive services in a sustainable environment. He said that the smart services are made available to customers in accordance with policies and legislation as well as local and international programs and partnerships to improve the performance of government institutions and strengthen the confidence of clients.

Al Ketbi pointed out that the ministry plans to convert the entire services to smart services. MOHAP succeeded in 2015 to convert more than 300 administrative service to smart services, and we look forward with confidence to the employment of advanced technologies optimized to save time and effort for patients to gain access to a broad portfolio of services that meets the highest international standards in order to contribute to advancing the process of transformation and smart access to reach position the UAE among the ranks of advanced countries in the world."

Mubaraka Mubarak Ali Ibrahim, Director of the Ministry’s Health Information Systems, explained that users can register on the Smart Patient Portal during their visit to a hospital or healthcare centre by providing their email address and the last four digits of their Emirates identity card. An invitation will then be sent to the email address provided outlining the steps for completing registration. 

The Smart Patient Portal can be accessed by all patients registered at healthcare centres and hospitals. There are 3,468 users of the service and booking appointments is currently accessible on WAREED - the electronic healthcare information system available at 30 healthcare centre.