DOHMS launches new portal to offer suite of services online for community and businesses

With the launch of the new portal www.dohms.gov.ae, which could also be accessed from Dubai eGovernments portal www.dubai.ae, DOHMS, the first government department to fully integrate its systems with Dubai eGovernment's advanced Content Management System (CMS), is on track to achieve the objective of providing services online through a user-friendly interface.

The suite of services that are being offered electronically will benefit corporate users as well as individuals. Corporate users can renew staff health cards online and apply for medical permits for new establishments or renew permits. Residents can acquire or renew health cards electronically, apply for medical fitness certificates or seek information on any of the services.

'The Department of Health and Medical Services is a key government department whose success depends on fruitful and effective interaction with a large number of people. The sheer volume of customers makes efficient interaction an overwhelming task. We are delighted that the new portal, helped by the industry leading systems provided by Dubai eGovernment, has the capability of eliminating many physical constituents by migrating the processes to electronic platforms and offering dramatically improved efficiency and speed,' said Qadi Muroushed, Director General of Department of Health and Medical Services (DOHMS).

'Driven by the ultimate Dubai eGovernment goal of delivering majority of Dubai government services by way of electronic channels, and with the support of their Highnesses Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, DOHMS has revamped its portal to present a friendly face to all users, including those who are challenged by technology,' said Muroushed. 'The site is easy to navigate and you can locate the service you want with just a few clicks. We are pleased to say that Dubai eGovernment's CMS offers invaluable tools to enable participating departments to enrich their websites. We expect to benefit from CMS at several levels and achieve substantial cost savings with quicker transactions, apart from the advantage of sharing a common platform that brings great value additions to online services.'

Muroushed said several new enhancements had been added to the DOHMS portal as part of its objective to introduce value added services. DOHMS has added features like Customer Care, an online query system for users about services, logging of complaints, an online 'Ask the Doctor' service and an informal online meeting place for parents and doctors.

'We are proud that, after several intense years of serving the public through conventional physical channels, we are now poised to offer services electronically, bringing about a substantial change in the way we deliver services and in the manner in which the customer uses them,' said Muroushed. 'It is a revolution that all have been waiting for and in the months to come, we hope to enhance features to add further services to our electronic offering.'

Salem Al-Shair, Director of eServices, Dubai eGovernment, said: 'This is a milestone for the Department of Health and Medical Services and the people of Dubai. The full integration of the DOHMS systems with Dubai eGovernment's CMS dramatically raises the standard of service delivery. CMS will enable DOHMS to customize the offering to suit user requirements, modify content on the department's website and upload the changes. Further, the Government Information Network (GIN), the engine of the eGovernment system, ensures that the system is dynamic, flexible, stable and secure. Above all, DOHMS is guaranteed that our support team is available round- the-clock to tackle malfunctioning or downtime.'

'Dubai eGovernment's CMS also brings advantages such as cost reductions, assured maintenance, storage content and shared hardware. It allows each department to add content and retain corporate identity, while at the same time permitting integration with other departments,' Al-Shair added.

The Dubai eGovernment's CMS has been designed along international standards, powered by the world's leading technologies. It offers the Dubai government departments significant flexibility to access their websites and alter content at their convenience. The content is stored in the central repository of Dubai eGovernment, giving other departments access to shared information.