Daman's first Regional Conference tackles the patient overflow to private healthcare facilities

The new Health Insurance Scheme was one of the many topics on the table, Dr. Kassem Alom, Managing Director of Al Noor Hospital in Abu Dhabi called for a re-structure of the health system in his lecture to complement the new Health Insurance Scheme.

Dr. Alom declared that the new Scheme has resulted in increased business for the healthcare industry, improved quality of healthcare for patients, and more choices of providers for patients. Dr. Alom also stated that patients are having to wait for a quite some time before receiving healthcare, hospitals may need to be physically reconfigured and implement improved processes and utilize resources to maximize patient care.

Dr. B. R. Shetty, Managing Director & CEO of New Medical Center Group, highlighted the burden of the sudden boost of insured population facing private healthcare providers, stressing the financial load on private healthcare providers. Dr. Shetty also emphasized the future challenges facing the industry such as building a scalable business model that will not only facilitate private hospitals to serve high-end as well as low-end customers but also ensure decent profitability, and to respond promptly to regulatory changes without impacting the quality of medical care offered. He concluded by commending the conference stating that it is a platform for regulators, insurance companies, and healthcare providers to discuss and resolve challenging issues facing the industry.

Dr. Prem Jagyasi, Group Director, Business Development and Marketing , from Lifeline Medical Group and Jebel Ali Hospital said: 'The globalization of healthcare is approaching the UAE. Medical Tourism is a direct result of globalization of healthcare. The dilemma facing the UAE is that non-insurance Emirates will face affordability challenges and insured Emirates will face accessibility challenges. The United Kingdom, USA and Canada all have capable infrastructures of their health system as well as the latest technology and modern medicine but they are not a target market in medical tourism due to the high cost, need factor and better care factors. UAE needs to focus on affordability and accessibility; otherwise the local healthcare system will remain struggling. The UAE should develop an infrastructure and a health system to lead as a provider of this emerging industry not as a target market.'

Dr. Franz Benstetter, Head of Section Managed Care Services of Munich Re, lectured on how to approach the new managed care and the global issues affecting the health insurance industry. He stated that the high medical expenses can be reduced by disease management and prevention programs.

Dr. Benstetter also highlighted the grave issue of diabetes in the country, stating that 1 in every 10 health care dollars is spent on diabetes and its complications and that medical expenditures of people diagnosed with diabetes is 2.3 times higher than those without diabetes. He said: 'Up to 80% of type 2 diabetes is preventable by a healthy diet, increasing physical activity and promoting a healthy lifestyle.' He related the high rates of diabetes in the UAE to the population aging, unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyles.

Dr. Abdulla Al Ahmadi, Director of Finance in the Ministry of Finance stressed the importance of the compulsory health insurance scheme especially for those with low income and investors in the health sector as it entices competition. He also stated that what makes the Scheme so unique in Abu Dhabi is that the insured does not bear any costs where the employers assume the charges of health insurance. Dr. Al Ahmadi declared that a committee, from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance and representatives of government entities, is currently working on implanting a nationwide health insurance scheme, where the sponsors will bear all costs of procuring health insurance to employees and everyone will require health insurance before attaining a residents visa.