The number of healthcare facilities have doubled over the past decade, while the number of hospitals in Dubai have doubled in seven years in order to cater to growing demand from residents and medical tourists, said a senior official on Wednesday.

“The number of healthcare facilities increased year-on-year. Over the decade, we have almost increased at 100 per cent, reaching over 5,300 healthcare facilities. Looking at healthcare professionals, for example, they have increased throughout the years," Mohammed Almeheiri – Director of Health Tourism Department at Dubai Health Authority (DHA), said during a conference organised by Khaleej Times.

"The market requires us to cater to the population living in Dubai, in addition to the people that are visiting Dubai and be able to massively support the influx of new residents to Dubai. A lot of developments, a lot of investors, a lot of people that are considering Dubai to be their homeland,” he added.

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Senior healthcare leaders from the public and private sectors across the region attended the 5th Future of Healthcare Summit 2025 . Held under the theme of 'Echoes of tomorrow, Building the future of care', the summit highlighted how healthcare is being transformed through innovation, technology, and strategic collaboration.

“We used to have around 24-25 hospitals in 2018 and we have doubled that number by today, reaching approximately 55 hospitals in the city,” Almeheiri said during a fireside chat with Ted Kemp, Chief Content Officer at Khaleej Times.

According to a study released by the Dubai Health Authority, the emirate received more than 691,000 health tourists from across the world in 2023, with their collective spending on healthcare services exceeding Dh1.03 billion. These numbers bettered those of 2022, when international health tourist arrivals topped 674,000, with their spending totalling Dh992 million. Dubai's indirect revenues from health tourism stood at Dh2.3 billion in 2023.

As the healthcare sector is fast evolving, he added that DHA, as a regulator, ensures the quality aspect is not compromised and the patient is provided services that he is looking for.

He stressed that all hospitals are required to have certain accreditations to ensure the quality of service and safety of the patient.

In reply to a query about top medical tourism destinations, he noted that most of the medical tourists come from neighboring GCC countries, with more focus on dental and derma.

“There are different countries within East and West Africa that require certain complicated procedures elsewhere because of the unavailability of that specialty, and that is a growing segment,” Mohammed Almeheiri said during the conversation.

While speaking about the role of artificial intelligence (AI) on the jobs segment in healthcare, he stressed that“AI will not replace those individuals who are working within the healthcare sector. It will make their jobs much more easier.”

He pointed out that healthcare facilities that are building efficiencies into the system would attract a lot of patients.

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