The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is to develop guidelines promoting need-based investments in the health sector. The private healthcare sector provided the DHA with input and feedback during a workshop, prior to developing the Certificate of Need (CON) policies and guidelines.
The guidelines will help map out investment opportunities in the healthcare sector, promoting need-based investments to bring equilibrium and avoid imbalances in supply and demand in health services. The plans also aim to provide patients with access to a wide range of medical specialties.
Earlier this year the DHA launched the Health Investment Guide, which provides in-depth details of demand, supply and gaps in the health sector.
The investment guide helps promote investment in need-based areas and supports investors. Now, adding the CON guidelines and policies, investors will have more clarity on investing in areas of priority and need.
‘The CON Programme has policies and guidelines that ensure investments in healthcare are in line with the requirements of the sector and the needs of the population,’ said HE Humaid Al Qutami, director general of the DHA. ‘CON is an important tool utilised by internationally advanced healthcare systems, to link the granting of licenses for medical facilities with a CON based on accurate and transparent studies. This helps lead to a dynamic health system that offers a wide spectrum of specialised health services.’
Ibtesam Al Bastaki, director of investments & PPPs at the DHA, added: ‘Investments generated through the CON programme will also lead to improvement in coverage for undersupplied services. We will work closely with the private sector to implement these guidelines and policies with an aim to further help develop the sector, keeping access to specialised services and patient experience as priority.’
The workshop was attended by several members of the private sector including TVM Capital, Foundation Holdings, Aster DM Healthcare, NMC and Saudi German Hospital.
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