RAMADAN ALBLOOSHI
With Phase I recently completed and Phase II raring to go with over 40 projects in the pipeline, the DHCC is setting the stage for Dubai's success in the sector.
BIOGRAPHY
Ramadan AlBlooshi is the Chief Regulatory Officer of the Dubai Healthcare City Authority. At DHCA, he heads Dubai Healthcare City Authority – Regulatory (DHCR), the independent regulator of the DHCC, a health and wellness free zone. DHCR is responsible for the licensing of all healthcare professionals and healthcare operators and setting and maintaining international best practice in healthcare delivery and patient care within the free zone. In his earlier role, AlBlooshi was the director of the Health Regulation Department at Dubai Health Authority. His expertise is clinical governance.
How does Phase II of DHCC both differ from and build off the success of Phase I?
In Dubai Healthcare City's Phase I, which is dedicated to healthcare and medical education, we established the foundation of a healthcare ecosystem where investors, healthcare professionals, researchers, academics, students, and patients come together to benefit from this self-sustaining healthcare free zone in Dubai. We streamlined the process of setting up a business in DHCC through Masaar, an e-services system that combines clinical and commercial activities. We introduced a robust yet dynamic regulatory framework to spearhead the development of the health sector in the UAE and beyond. Phase II will build on this success to complement the DHCC ecosystem. Sitting on over 19 million sqft and overlooking the historic Dubai Creek and Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary, Dubai Phase II in Al Jaddaf will focus on preventative healthcare and wellness through specialized services such as rehabilitation, counseling, sports medicine, and elderly care for both residents and visitors. In 2019, Phase II welcomed residents to its first two residential projects, Azizi Aliyah and Al Waleed Garden Tower. In 2020, Clemenceau Medical Center Dubai, the first general hospital in Phase II, opened its doors to the public. A renowned name in the region and part of the Clemenceau Medicine network of hospitals, the new 100-bed hospital will further cement DHCC's position as a hub for quality healthcare and excellence. There are currently more than 40 projects under development in Phase II including the first Barraquer UAE Eye Hospital in the Middle East, one of world's leading eye clinics from Spain.
What specialties are you looking to attract based on market needs?
There are currently more than 300 specialties available in DHCC. Based on the free zone's current needs, we are looking to attract several specialties including ophthalmology, urology, nephrology, and anesthesiology. To identify future gaps, we are working with Dubai Health Authority as part of their 'Certificate of Need' guidelines to provide in-depth knowledge on the gaps of the UAE healthcare sector to help promote need-based investment. This will provide us with a long-term projection of the required specialties, and we will work towards developing our regulations in accordance with this certificate to address the requirements of priority areas to avoid a supply and demand imbalance in the market.
How do increased R&D capabilities factor into your agenda?
Research is a main pillar of the DHCC ecosystem and an important factor to attract high-caliber physicians to Dubai. There are more than 55 research projects, including early phase clinical trials, currently registered in the free zone. Since 2018, the research department of Dubai Healthcare City Authority Regulatory has developed a robust mechanism to review research applications resulting in a reduction of more than 60% in assessment time and a 77% growth in research conducted. Recently, to empower our community members, we co-sponsored the 'Professional Diploma in Clinical Leadership and Innovation,' offering the program to our community at a 40% discounted rate.
What are your other strategic priorities, and what are we looking forward to in 2020?
The UAE can become a global leader in healthcare delivery through the agility of its government in responding to the impact of disruptive technologies. Since 2015, the country's leadership has launched several strategies, including the National Innovation Strategy, the AI Strategy, and Blockchain Strategy with the aim of being at the forefront of this fast-paced industry. In 2019, as part of designing an agile regulatory framework, we developed more than 80 new policies, 24 standards, and more than 30 guidelines in our nine areas of regulations covering healthcare professionals, operators, education, research, health data protection as well as commercial licensing, including a teleconsultation policy. Our priority for 2020 is to continue to develop our regulations to be responsive to the demands of the health sector, especially those brought by new technologies, to enable the development of the country's health sector.
RAMADAN ALBLOOSHI
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Interview
Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Former Minister of Economy,
The ministry's way forward is to spur more international collaboration, whether inside the country through FDI flows and encouraging foreign entrepeneurship or outside the country through China's highly-valued Belt and Road Initiative.
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Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, Director General, Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (DAFZA)
In addition to pursuing an aggressively innovative trade and industrial policy, DAFZA is working behind the scenes to boost Dubai's role as the world's most dynamic hub for global halal services.
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Hatem Sleiman, Regional Vice-President, Head of Network, Middle East and South Asia, Western Union
Technology, globalization, and migration will ensure that no matter the nationalization policies carried out by regional governments, the remittance spout is unlikely to dry up any time soon.
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Hamdan AlShamsi, Senior Partner, Hamdan AlShamsi Lawyers & Legal Consultants
With the expected increase of business in the region, Hamdan AlShamsi Lawyers & Legal Consultants stands ready to assist new or current businesses with the implementation of ideas and the protection of IP.
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Marwan Bin Haidar, Executive Vice President of Innovation and the Future, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)
Through its digital arm, DEWA seeks to disrupt the entire business of public utilities by becoming the world's first digital utility to use autonomous systems for renewable energy and storage.
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Will Goodwin, Managing Director, The Priory Group
Social media can lead to living a virtual life, with limited face-to-face interaction, avoidance, and often misconstrued reality. This may lead to mental health-related issues such as depression, loss of individual value, low confidence, and anxiety.
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Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, Dubai Duty Free (DDF)
One of the leading airport retailers in the world, DDF currently operates some 40,000sqm of retail space at Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport, reporting sales over USD2.029 billion in 2019.
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