Dubai’s DHA launches first phase of NABIDH initiative

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has announced the introduction of phase 1 of the Network and Analysis Backbone for the Integrated Dubai Health (NABIDH) initiative.

The NABIDH initiative will provide a unified medical record for each individual in Dubai by connecting the information contained in all public and private healthcare facilities. Part of Dubai’s health information exchange and population health programme, the project will lead to improved quality and patient safety, reduced cost and evidence-based care.

DHA introduces NABIDH, welcoming the future of healthcare excellence in Dubai. The project aims to provide every patient in Dubai with an electronic medical file, which is accessible across all health facilities in Dubai- public and private. pic.twitter.com/IYTyb7d3SG

— هيئة الصحة بدبي (@DHA_Dubai) November 29, 2020

The first phase of the project has been launched with DHA, while several Mediclinic hospitals and clinics currently onboard. By the first quarter of 2021, Zulekha Hospital, Kings College Dubai and Al Zahra will be on-boarded.

In terms of unique patient identifier or individual patient electronic files, 1,123,720 currently form part of the initiative. However the implementation of the NABIDH initiative across all healthcare facilities will be a three-year exercise, ensuring that every patient in Dubai has one electronic file that can be accessed by healthcare professionals across public or private facilities.

Supporting interoperability, NABIDH securely stores patients’ health records from multiple healthcare facilities providing physicians with a consolidated timeline of aggregated medical history including medications, allergies, procedures, and test results, helping them make informed clinical decisions. Via the initiative, NABIDH aims to develop a collaborative healthcare ecosystem, connecting 1,500 health facilities, 11,000 physicians and 3.3 million people within the emirate. 

Humaid Al Qutami, director-general of DHA said that the NABIDH project will positively impact healthcare delivery in Dubai, and will benefit both healthcare professionals as well as patients.

“NABIDH continues to prioritise the patient where instead of the patient looking for his information, now wherever the patient goes, his medical information will follow him,” noted Dr. Mohammad Al Redha, director of project management office, Health Informatics and Smart Health at DHA.