Accreditation: Making The Leap
From Ambition To Reality
Ashraf Ismail, MD, MPH, CPHQ
Managing Director, Middle East
Joint Commission International
1
© Joint Commission International
22 - 23 October 2014, Dubai, UAE
UAE Healthcare Sector
 Witnessed rapid development over the past few years
 Attracted major international healthcare players in the
market
 Growth of smaller health care clinics and ambulatory
2
© Joint Commission International
centers
UAE Healthcare Sector
o The region is building large medical cities and
complexes, with billions of dollars of investments lined
up, to not only
o Raise the supply of medical infrastructure but also
o Raise the quality of healthcare services
advancements and health awareness
o
Conti..
3
© Joint Commission International
o Governments’ increasing investments in technological
UAE Healthcare Sector
 Strong medical tourism industry
 UAE is the second-largest GCC healthcare services
market & is expected to be the fastest growing markets,
4
© Joint Commission International
going forward.
Making The Leap From
Ambition To Reality
5
© Joint Commission International
Role Of Government & Regulatory Bodies
As laid out in the seven-year UAE National Agenda
announced in January
By 2020, only accredited healthcare providers will be
allowed to operate in the UAE
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of
DubaI urged stakeholders in the public and private
medical services, construct a quality healthcare system
and provide best services
6
© Joint Commission International
healthcare sector to unify their efforts to develop the
MoH facilities across Emirates opt for JCI
accreditation
7
© Joint Commission International
President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin
Zayed Al Nahyan, is keen on providing stateof-the-art healthcare services that ensure the
wellbeing of all UAE residents.
Vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed
Bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Seeking international accreditations for
the health sector of Dubai is in line with
the vision of His Highness Sheikh
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice
President and Prime Minister of the UAE
Dubai Strategic Plan 2015.
8
© Joint Commission International
and Ruler of Dubai as envisaged in the
Specific Initiatives Of DHA
o Strengthen building standards and
introduce international best-practice to the
design, construction and physical environment
of healthcare facilities
– DHA Published guidelines for the
Planning, Design, Commissioning and
Construction of the Health Facilities
o DHA in collaboration with the JCI conducted
the 1st Regional Conference for Sharing Best
9
Practices in Implementing JCI Standards
© Joint Commission International
o Promote international accreditation for all
public or private healthcare facilities
Health Authority-Abu Dhabi
o In the UAE, JCI Accreditation is a goal set by Health
Authority-Abu Dhabi (HA-AD) for all hospital providers in
the emirate
o HAAD Health Regulations have been drafted in
collaboration with international healthcare experts including
JCI to help drive compliance and improve quality and costeffectiveness across the system
10
© Joint Commission International
Vision
UAE Ministry of Health
o One of the Strategic Goal of MOH is to
Deliver health services to UAE community
11
© Joint Commission International
as per International standards
UAE Vision 2021
The Joint Commission International (JCI) was appointed
by DHCC to accredit hospitals operating within DHCC.
This selection demonstrates the commitment by DHCC to
12
© Joint Commission International
provide safe and high-quality care.
Accreditation : Ambition to Reality
For Improving Quality & Safety, Healthcare Organizations
invested in
Building,
Equipment &
Supplies
Infrastructure
Leadership
Safety &
Quality
Culture
Operating
Systems
13
© Joint Commission International
Human
Resources
Accreditation : Ambition to
Reality
UAE made a great leap in Improving quality and safety
of healthcare services
– Moving towards international accreditation for all
healthcare facilities
• Tremendous growth of international accreditation for
• UAE is No.1 country in the world that has the highest
number of accredited organizations
14
© Joint Commission International
governmental and public organizations by JCI.
JCI Accredited Organizations
in Middle East
100
90
80
92
73
70
60
50
30
20
10
22
14 12
3
3
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
0
15
© Joint Commission International
40
Distribution Of JCI Accredited Organizations in UAE
Ajman Kalba
1% 1%
Sharjah
1%
RAK
1%
Al Ain
7%
Abu Dhabi
28%
Dubai
59%
16
© Joint Commission International
Fujairah
2%
Classification of Organizations Accredited
by JCI in UAE
Hospitals
Laboratories
Ambulatory Care
Centers
No of
Organizations
Accredited
Long Term care Ambulatory
1%
Care Network
CCPC
2%
2%
52
22
2
Medical Transport
Ambulatory
Care Centers
12%
11
CCPC
Ambulatory Care
Network
Primary Healthcare
Centers
Long Term care
Medical
Primary
Transport Healthcare
1%
Centers
1%
Laboratories
24%
Hospitals
57%
2
1
1
1
17
© Joint Commission International
Type of
Accreditation
Classification Of
Accredited Organizations in UAE
No. Accredited
DHA Hospitals
DHA Ambulatory care centers
3
2
DHCC CCPC Certified programs
1
SEHA Hospitals
SEHA Ambulatory care centers
6
2
SEHA Primary care centers
1
MOH Hospitals
Private Hospitals
Private Ambulatory Care Centers
3
40
8
MOI Ambulatory Care center
1
Private Clinical Laboratories
22
Private CCPC Certified Programs
1
Private Long Term Care Facility
1
Private Medical Transport Program
1
18
© Joint Commission International
Type of Organization
Classification Of Accredited Organizations in UAE
Private Long Term Care Facility Private Medical Transport
1%
Program
1%
Private CCPC Certified
Programs
1%
DHA Hospitals
3%
DHA Ambulatory care centers
2%
DHCC CCPC Certified
programs
1%
SEHA Ambulatory care centers
2%
SEHA
Hospitals
7%
SEHA Primary care centers
1%
MOH Hospitals
3%
Private Clinical Laboratories
24%
Private Ambulatory Care
Centers
9%
Private Hospitals
44%
19
© Joint Commission International
MOI Ambulatory Care center
1%
20
© Joint Commission International
Major Challenges
Attraction, Retention And Development Of
Qualified Healthcare Professionals
o The private and public healthcare providers suffer from a
chronic shortage and turnover of qualified medical staff
o Part of the challenge deals with compensation and
maintenance of competitive pay scales to attract top
healthcare professionals.
of continuing education
21
© Joint Commission International
o The attraction/retention of staff is also hampered by a lack
Cost And Complexity Of Regulation
Requirements And Licensing
o Healthcare sector suffers from a lack of standardization in
o Inconsistencies in facilities and licensing of professionals
o Limited staff mobility: doctors licensed in one Emirate are
restricted from working in others before issuing a local
license, and licensing requirements are different
o Non uniform record-keeping of disease
o Medical complaints management
o Cost of regulatory implementation - implementation of new
billing systems in Abu Dhabi based on DRG and E&M is very
costly
22
© Joint Commission International
regulations across the country
Quality And Standardization Of Services
Managing staff from different cultures, medical approaches and
practices and creating patient care standards that all the staff
23
© Joint Commission International
can adopt is one of the major challenges
Insurance Providers
Health insurance sector remains faced with a number of
pressing challenges including
Over-utilization Of Health Services
24
© Joint Commission International
Over-prescription Of Drugs
Outbound Medical Tourism
o UAE is one of the biggest markets for outbound
medical tourism in the Middle East
o High treatment cost are the main sources of UAE
25
© Joint Commission International
outbound medical tourism
26
© Joint Commission International
Top 5 opportunities
Specialty Care Centers
o Opportunities for medical providers in the UAE reside
in highly specialized care and centers of excellence
o Healthcare providers are increasingly differentiating
themselves by providing specializations that cover the
entire disease cycle from diagnosis to rehabilitation
Examples :Establishment of the Imperial College Diabetes Center, Dubai
27
© Joint Commission International
Bones and Joint Center and Abu Dhabi Knee and Sports Center.
Inbound Medical Tourism
o As per Deloitte‘s 2011 Survey of the UAE health care
sector, Dubai is considered a major medical destination
hub
o However Competition within the region is fierce with
28
© Joint Commission International
other competing nations including Lebanon and Jordan.
Long-term Care Facilities
o There are currently very few long-term care facilities in the
UAE
o Demand for long term care facilities will grow due to growing
aging population and the explosion of chronic diseases
o Long term facilities should be set up to serve patients
care services for non-acute, long-term conditions
29
© Joint Commission International
requiring preventive, therapeutic and rehabilitative nursing
Home Care Services
o UAE government highly supports the development of
homecare services
o The Abu Dhabi government recently launched the “Al Bir
Wal Ehsan’ campaign that aims to provide homecare services
to elderly and chronic disease patients in the emirate.
o Private providers have begun to open home care services
30
© Joint Commission International
across the country
Partnerships Between Healthcare
Providers
Creating partnerships between healthcare providers will
improve quality of healthcare and patients’ access to
31
© Joint Commission International
advanced medical equipment in the country
Achieving Excellence Is Not A
Chance. It Is A Journey, Not A
Destination
100
90
80
92
73
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
22
14 12
3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1
It requires and will continue to
require leadership commitment,
serious work, continuous
32
improvement
© Joint Commission International
0
33
© Joint Commission International
Ashraf Ismail, MD, MPH, CPHQ
Managing Director, Middle East Region
Joint Commission International