(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Dubai health authorities have eased licensing regulations for visiting professionals so as to give patients access to international and highly qualified, 'weekend doctors'.
Licences of these professionals will be fast-tracked by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) and they will be allowed to work in Dubai for a month at a stretch for up to three months in a year.
"This is the need of Dubai's growing market," said Dr Layla Al Marzouqi, Director of the Health Regulation and the Dubai Medical Tourism Initiative at the DHA in an interview on Wednesday.
Earlier, professionals were required to complete licensing formalities required for full-time Dubai-based professionals that took a longer time to process.
However, licensing of these professionals will be strictly regulated.
"We will continue to regulate and facilitate the procedure and they will be given a license to work in Dubai within days but on certain terms," she explained.
Dr Layla said the facilities requiring the visiting doctors will have to prove that a doctor of the same specialty is already working in the facility. "This is needed because patients require continuity of care ... just because a doctor flies back after a brief stay here, the treatment should not stop," she said.
The authority will continue to carry out regular background checks on the doctors. "We will make sure to carry out primary source verification (PSV) on the professionals," she said, adding that only a certain years of experience and super specialty cases will be given fast track licenses.
Dr Ramadan Ibrahim Al Blooshi, Managing Director, Dubai Healthcare City Authority - Regulatory said: "Increasing access to highly-qualified, international physicians will benefit both UAE nationals and expatriates."
From a healthcare professional's perspective, learning from a visiting doctor is part of knowledge transfer and ongoing clinical improvement in a particular specialty, he explained.
"We issued a policy to regulate the licensing process and practice of visiting physicians who engage in clinical practice at healthcare facilities licensed by the DHCC. The policy came into effect on February 2015 and we are currently receiving queries from interested facilities," he added.
"This policy applies to all licensed healthcare facilities in DHCC free zone, seeking short-term engagement of visiting physicians with high qualifications and competencies in their respective clinical areas, to practice in their facilities," said Dr Ramadan.
Currently, 31,500 health professionals work in Dubai. The DHA receives at least 200 new applications each day. - asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com
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