Groundbreaking discoveries in Genomics, AI, Blockchain & Gamification, Recognition of EMRAM Achievers and Best Case Practice Discussions to Improve Patient Care

[Dubai, Abu Dhabi] Wednesday, 8 November 2017 – Leading experts in healthcare from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and around the world will gather in Dubai (12 November – 13 November) and Abu Dhabi (14 November) for the annual UAE eHealth Week.

Offering the latest breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Health 2.0, Genomics and Gamification, together with updates from government and hospitals on Health Information Exchange and Electronic Medical Record Adoption, the Week will take place at Mohammed Bin Rashid University (MBRU) and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD), where policy makers, healthcare providers and vendors will come together to showcase projects and innovations that improve efficiency and care quality.

Led by H.E. Humaid Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board and Director-General, Dubai Health Authority, and under the patronage of the Ministry of Health and Prevention UAE (MOHAP), Abu Dhabi Health Authority (HAAD) and Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), UAE eHealth Week will offer a main HIMSS Conference, CPHIMS Review Course, and will launch two new communities: GCC Healthcare CIO Community under the HIMSS-CHIME International initiative and the Women in Health IT Community. These communities are aimed at helping budding current healthcare professionals and leaders advance their careers through networking, sharing of resources and mentoring.

H.E. Mr. Awadh AlKetbi, Undersecretary of Support Services at the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention UAE, commented ahead of the conference: “The Ministry of Health and Prevention UAE is delighted to partner with HIMSS again this year to bring the UAE eHealth Week back to the cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. MOHAP is focused on digitizing patient records and the interoperable exchange of health information to achieve population health and proactively manage the wellness needs of our society. We look forward to sharing our project updates on this and learning from peers at UAE eHealth Week”.

Ms. Mubaraka Mubarak Ali Ibrahim, Director Health Information Systems Department, MOHAP, UAE said, “Developing the applied skills and capacity of the workforce is essential to sustaining the progress we have made so far. Robust discussion and mentoring groups are critical in helping to develop our women leaders, CIOs and informatics professionals and to enable them to reach their full potential. Apart from the main conference, MOHAP is extremely excited to be part of the launch of the Women in Health IT Community and the GCC CIO Community.”

At UAE eHealth Week 2017, HIMSS will announce an unprecedented number of GCC hospitals and healthcare facilities as new HIMSS Analytics EMRAM or O-EMRAM Stage 6 additions. Developed in 2005, the HIMSS EMR Adoption Model (EMRAMSM) is a global standard used widely as a roadmap by organizations to track their digital maturity and EMR adoption levels. This 8-Stage Model (Stage 0-7) is used by over 8,000 healthcare facilities worldwide in their digital maturity journey. In 2011, no hospitals surveyed in Dubai were at Stage 6. At UAE eHealth Week 2017, there will be over 20 facilities in the UAE at Stage 6 and one at Stage 7.

Dr. Osama El Hassan, Vice President of the Emirates Health Informatics Society and the Head of eHealth, Dubai Health Authority said, “We have definitely reached the tipping point of EMR adoption in the UAE. Aligned with Vision 2021, healthcare organizations are motivated to invest in the appropriate technologies to improve care delivery for their patients; this is demonstrated by the large numbers of organizations that have recently achieved HIMSS Analytics EMRAM Stage 6 in the UAE. We hope to continue improving care through adopting additional HIMSS Analytics benchmarks such as Ambulatory EMRAM and Continuity of Care Model to scale out digital transformation towards others areas of the care process”. Dr. El Hassan will be speaking about EMR adoption in the GCC on 12 November in Dubai, alongside representatives from MOHAP and SEHA.  

UAE’s healthcare market is primed to be worth Dh103 bllion by 2021. Evidently the level of healthcare technology adoption has also steadily increased in the UAE in recent years. In 2014 UAE launched an electronic healthcare information system called “Wareed” linking 14 MOH hospitals and 25 state clinics to avoid duplication of patient records and increase patient safety. Earlier this year, Dubai’s unified electronic medical record system, Salama, went live. This project aims to centralize access to records for patients and doctors across DHA facilities. It will eventually be linked to the National Unified Medical Record (NUMR) which aims to enable health information exchange across both public and private sectors – all 2,700 of them – providing a single electronic file for each resident. In 2016, UAE also launched the world’s first comprehensive electronic medical tourism portal in its bid to become a leading medical hub. In addition, DHA has 98 dynamic initiatives in its Health Strategy 2016 – 2021.

The Week is designed to help stakeholders improve adoption levels of technology for seamless care and enhanced patient experience. The Week will receive over 400 attendees and speakers from UAE, Spain, Canada, India, Italy, Poland and regional policy makers, hospital leaders and top solution providers. This year, the Week will also see more private sector participation.

David J. Hadley, Chief Executive Officer, Mediclinic Middle East, UAE is a prominent leader in UAE’s private hospital sector. He will be sharing his views on health information exchange in the private sector. David commented: “Private hospitals need to bring to the forefront health information exchange and technology adoption. It is crucial that CEOs start thinking digital to create efficiencies, cost savings, revenue growth and most importantly – better care.”

Another renowned speaker at the UAE eHealth Week, Manel Sort is the General Manager at King Black Barcelona, a division of King Digital Entertainment developing mid-core video games for the company. Manel led the incorporation of King Digital Entertainment’s Spanish studios back in 2012, and as Head of Studios, he brought many games to life, Including Diamond Digger Saga, Papa Pear Saga, Bubble Witch Saga 2 and Bubble Witch Saga 3. He will be speaking alongside Anna Sort about gamification in health. Manel said: “Video games are great at creating engagement, a critical aspect of successful healthcare. Anna and I will share with the audience how games can support greater patient engagement, which in turn can translate into better care outcomes.”

UAE eHealth Week will run from November 12 – November 14 in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. More information can be found at www.uaeehealthweek.org. Online registration is open.

Notes to editor

Notable happenings at UAE eHealth Week include:

• HIMSS will host a HIMSS EMRAM Stage 6/7 Hospitals Networking Breakfast (by invitation only) (8am – 8.45am; 12 November, Dubai)
• Opening Welcome by His Excellency Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board and Director-General, Dubai Health Authority, UAE and Harold “Hal” Wolf III, President and CEO, HIMSS (9am – 9.05am; 12 November, Dubai)
• HIMSS Analytics EMRAM Award, HIMSS Awards and HIMSS-Elsevier Digital Healthcare Awards Presentations (9.05am – 9.45am; 12 November, Dubai)
• Vision and Value of Health Information Exchange – TED-style session (10.15am – 11am; 12 November, Dubai)

• Ali Juma AlAjme, Information Technology Department Director, Ministry of Health and Prevention, UAE
• Dr. Ahmed Balkhair, Chief Information Officer, Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• Dr. Mohammed Al Redha, Director of The Executive Officer for Organizational Transformation, Dubai Health Authority, UAE
• Ali Mohamed Al Ali, Director of Information Technology, Health Authority Abu Dhabi, UAE

• The Tipping Point for EMR Adoption in the GCC – TED-style session (11.05am – 11.50am; 12 November, Dubai)
  • Mubaraka Ibrahim, Director, Health Information Systems Department, Ministry of Health & Prevention, UAE
  • Qasim Abu Hantash, EMR Program Director, Dubai Health Authority, UAE
  • Ahmed Aljneibi, Acting Group Chief Information Officer, Abu Dhabi Health Services Company, SEHA, UAE
  • Dr. Osama El-Hassan, Head of eHealth, Dubai Health Authority, UAE
  • Michel Amous, Managing Director, Intersystems, Middle East, Italy and India

• UAE Private Sector CEOs Roundtable: Health Information Exchange in the Private Sector (11.55am – 12.40pm; 12 November, Dubai)
  • Peter Makowski, Chief Executive Officer, American Hospital Dubai, UAE
  • David J. Hadley, Chief Executive Officer, Mediclinic Middle East, UAE
  • Dr. Reem Osman, Chief Executive Officer, Saudi German Hospital Dubai, UAE
  • Moderator: Dr. Mohammed Al Redha, Director of The Executive Office for Organizational Transformation, Dubai Health Authority, UAE

• GCC Healthcare CIO Community Launch under the HIMSS-CHIME International Initiative (12.40pm – 1.45pm; 12 November, Dubai)
  • Dr. Jan-Eric Slot MB, MSc, MBA, CHCIO, Chief Information Officer, Bernhoven Hospital, Germany
  • Cherie Pardue, Chief Information Officer, American Hospital Dubai, UAE

• HIMSS will host an Innovators’ Networking Breakfast (by invitation only) (8am – 8.45am; 13 November, Dubai)

• From Candy Crush to Healthcare: Lessons Learned from Consumers (11.50am – 12.30pm; 13 November, Dubai)
  • Anna Sort, CEO, Co-founder and Engagement Design Expert, Play Benefit, Spain
  • Manel Sort, Head of Studios, King.com, Spain

• Women in Health IT: The Launch of the HIMSS Women in Health IT Community (12.30pm – 2pm; 13 November, Dubai)
  • Laila AlJasmi, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Health Beyond Borders, UAE
  • Dr. Ayesha AlMutawa, Chief Innovation Officer, Director of Strategy and Future Department, Ministry of Health and Prevention, UAE
  • Mubaraka Ibrahim, Director, Health Information Systems Department, Ministry of Health & Prevention, UAE
  • Amani Al Jasmi, IT Director, Dubai Health Authority, UAE
  • Lina Shadid, IBM Public & Healthcare Leader, Middle East and Africa, IBM

• Blockchain for Health (2pm – 2.40pm; 13 November, Dubai)
  • Christopher S. Day, Business Advisor, RapidQube Digital Solutions (RapidQube) Pvt Ltd, USA
  • Mohanraj Polur Balu, Chief Digital Strategist, RapidQube Digital Solutions (RapidQube) Pvt Ltd, India
  • John Bass, CEO, Hashed Health, USA
  • Brian Behlendorf, Executive Director, Hyperledger Project, Linux Foundation, USA
  • Moderator: Matthew Holt, Co-Chairman, Health 2.0

• Revised Criteria for EMRAM in 2018 (9.45am – 10.45am; 14 November, Abu Dhabi)