The Dubai Health Authority (DHA), which regulates the health insurance sector in Dubai, has launched its ‘Ejadah’ programme, a value-based healthcare model for the emirate.
Insurers will be able to access evidence-based data and all stakeholders will work together to enhance healthcare and reduce unnecessary medical expenditure.
The model will pay for performance and outcomes that matter to patients and will assist healthcare service providers with evidence-based guidelines which will be a framework for all physicians to follow with regard to treatment protocols for all ailments, according to a report by Emirates News Agency.
At the Ejadah launching ceremony, DHA director-general Awadh Seghayer Al Ketbi said, “DHA is implementing policies and regulations to further accelerate the development of the health sector, keeping patient-centricity as a priority and ensuring all stakeholders are taken into consideration and work in collaboration with a common vision to advance the health sector in Dubai and to establish the emirate as a medical tourism hub.”
He added that the value-based model will further improve health services and enhance preventive care which will lead to better population health and reduced healthcare expenditure.
Dubai Health Insurance Corporation CEO Saleh Al Hashimi said, “The initiative will help improve government oversight of the health sector by overseeing clinical outcomes, economic and human-centric outcomes. The model is driven by quality outcomes, it will put health consumers at the centre of the model, focus on preventive care, and reduce healthcare expenditure thus leading to healthcare sustainability.”
He explained that payers and providers will undergo training to understand the framework and KPIs that will lead to faster claim approvals, minimise waste of healthcare expenditure and focus on preventive care.
DHA Ejadah project lead Mohamed Farghaly explained how a significant part of the cost of managing non-communicable diseases such as diabetes actually goes towards managing the complications of the disease rather than the disease itself.
“By implementing an ecosystem that focuses on preventive care and patient-centred care, this cost can be significantly reduced,” he said. M