Dubai Health Authority Highlights AI Drive and Diagnostic Advancements in Healthcare

NABIDH Platform Connects Over 9 Million Medical Records and Integrates 1,300 Healthcare Facilities

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 19, 2024: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA), in collaboration with Roche Diagnostics Middle East, hosted a one-day workshop titled “NABIDH Elevate”, focusing on the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and diagnostic integration within Dubai’s healthcare landscape. The NABIDH Elevate workshop is an ongoing initiative with the private sector to discuss the latest advances in the NABIDH platform, which will soon include imaging data as part of Dubai’s commitment to pioneering digital health innovation.

NABIDH, which stands for Network & Analysis Backbone for Integrated Dubai Health, has reached a significant milestone by unifying over 9.47 million patient records and connecting more than 1,300 healthcare facilities. With 81% of Dubai’s healthcare professionals actively engaged with the platform, NABIDH facilitates streamlined access to patients’ complete medical histories, including diagnostics, to support informed and personalised care.

Ms. Mona Bajman, CEO of the Shared Support Services Sector at the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), underscored the transformative role of AI in healthcare. “Artificial intelligence represents a true revolution in the healthcare sector, enhancing the quality of services provided to patients, streamlining administrative and medical processes, enabling early disease diagnosis, and improving treatment outcomes for patients.”

Bajman reiterated DHA’s commitment to adopting advanced smart solutions that align with Dubai’s health sustainability goals and community well-being. “Through initiatives like NABIDH, we have significantly improved healthcare services in Dubai by connecting healthcare facilities and providing comprehensive data to stakeholders. This supports informed decision-making that benefits patient treatment plans and strengthens the healthcare system’s competitiveness in addressing potential challenges,” she added.

She also highlighted DHA’s continuous efforts to enhance the NABIDH platform, including integrating diagnostic data to advance the unified patient medical record initiative in Dubai. This aligns with DHA’s strategic objective of improving patient outcomes and streamlining healthcare service delivery.

Bajman noted that NABIDH provides a secure and efficient environment for exchanging reliable health data, enabling healthcare providers in both public and private sectors to access unified patient records while maintaining the highest standards of privacy, accuracy, and efficiency. These capabilities support Dubai’s rapidly evolving digital health ecosystem.

Dr. Mohammed Al Redha, Director of DHA’s Health Informatics and Smart Health Department, highlighted the platform's strategic value, stating: “Integrating diagnostics, imaging, and AI into NABIDH is pivotal to Dubai’s smart healthcare strategy. This expansion supports DHA’s commitment to improving patient outcomes by providing healthcare professionals with real-time, comprehensive insights into patients’ health, positioning Dubai as a global leader in advanced healthcare.”

Moritz Hartmann, Global Head of Information Systems at Roche said “Digital transformation in healthcare unlocks tremendous opportunities – from early diagnosis of diseases to prevention and treatment. Throughout our 127-year history, Roche has been at the forefront of innovation in healthcare, and we are now seeing a distinct acceleration in the way data is being used to provide insights, drive outcomes and deliver more personalised healthcare for individuals. Successful integration of data not only better supports patients, but also improves internal coordination, drives efficiencies, and brings down costs for healthcare providers. So, I am delighted to be back in the Middle East to hear about the bold ambitions of the Dubai Health Authority in the digitisation of the local healthcare system and we look forward to collaborating with local healthcare operators to better integrate the latest data-led technologies and diagnostics, for the benefit of patients in the UAE and beyond.”