Think of Dubai and you get the imagery of tall shining buildings, clean beaches and desert safari and much more. But Habibi, the city is all geared up to give you state of the art healthcare avenues.??
The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has announced the launch of ¡®Dubai In One Day¡¯ health tourism initiative during the recently concluded Arab Health Exhibition and Congress.?
The aim of this initiative is to further bolster the health tourism sector in the Emirate and to provide tourists with comprehensive health screening packages that are quick and affordable and are available across a number of private health facilities as part of this unique initiative.
Dr Marwan Al Mulla, CEO of Health Regulation Sector at the DHA said that the aim of this initiative is to further bolster Dubai¡¯s position in the health tourism field and to provide tourists with an opportunity to avail of high-quality comprehensive check-ups during their stay in the Emirate.
Dr Al Mulla highlighted that the screening packages are aimed to be convenient, quick, efficient and encourage preventive screening which is critical for early detection of diseases, prevents disease complications and can help in disease prevention especially in the case of several lifestyle diseases.
Mohamed Al Mheiri, Director of Health Tourism Department at the DHA said, ¡°A tourist can conveniently complete his comprehensive medical screening within 2 hours to 6 hours depending on the package selected and that the results are provided within 24 to 48 hours, making it highly effective and convenient for tourists.¡±
Tourists can book the service by directly contacting the listed participating facilities. Al Mheiri feels Dubai has already become the favoured destination for treatments in certain specialities like dental, orthopaedic, gynaecology, cosmetic surgeries, and ophthalmology.?
¡°Dubai has already distinguished itself as a tourism destination with the best of airlines, feeling safe in the city, having a variety of choices for hotels, as well as activities to enjoy. There are over 4000 healthcare facilities opened just in Dubai. We are trying to provide a unique experience of the perfect city. We received 6,30,000 healthcare visitors in 2021 and looking at the increasing numbers we can see the need is there.¡±
Dr. Azad Moopen, Chairman and Managing Director, Aster DM Healthcare feels there are many factors contributing to the success of Dubai as a healthcare destination.
¡°In Dubai there are people coming from all over the world because there is no language barrier. There are doctors who can cater to patients from GCC, Asia, as well as western countries. Another important aspect is that Dubai is family friendly. When a patient comes their family members accompany them and they like to come to Dubai so they can enjoy other activities also. But the most important aspect is the universal insurance which has made treatments in Dubai extremely affordable.¡±?
The emergence of Dubai as a medical tourism hub has also proven to be a boon for other countries. India which has been a similar centre for medical services has also found lucrative opportunities here.
Sunny Bose, Senior Deputy Director EEPC India, says, ¡°It is very positive. Earlier people from MENA used to travel to India, but now Indian hospitals and service providers are moving to set up in Dubai. There is a great inflow of Indian medical devices into Dubai which has been very happy with the standard of devices and applications developed in India.¡±
As economies return to pre-pandemic levels the global medical tourism market is expected to show tremendous growth, going from just under $14 billion in 2021 to $53.5 billion in 2028, with an average annual growth rate exceeding 20 per cent. As per the ¡° Global Medical Tourism Index¡± issued by the International Health Care Research Center (IHRC), Dubai is the top medical tourism destination in the region, now with the vision of the DHA it is set to expand its influence over the rest of the world.