As part of its continuous efforts to improve the quality of healthcare delivery in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), the regulator of the healthcare sector in the Emirate, is considering the implementation of new procedures within the healthcare system for accessing health services.
The DoH referred to the increasing and unjustified medical visits as well as duplicate tests among the Thiqa programme members, leading to unnecessary medical procedures and discrepancy in prescribed medications that could cause side effects and other health problems.
According to the department’s data, the number of unnecessary second visits to a physician of the same speciality in less than 14 days reached 359, 266 in 2018 and more than 101, 451 during the first quarter of 2019, while more than 79, 569 and 21,882 duplicate tests were conducted during the same periods respectively.
The new procedures will be in place, following detailed studies conducted by the department, in collaboration with all stakeholders, including the healthcare facilities in the emirate.
The department affirmed that the patient remains a top priority, saying that the new procedures will contribute in providing more efficient treatment services to all patients, consistent with the highest international standards and best practices.
