en-Cove

hospitality with translators in their

facilities; so for example, if a patient

is from Nigeria, they have a translator

to help this person and even a special

menu for the food they prefer.

Therefore, we are culture sensitive to

the needs of not whom we refer to

as our patients but whom we refer

to as our guests. We accommodate

their needs and their family’s needs.

Moreover, the quality of healthcare is

strictly regulated to ensure everyone

in the Emirate receives internationally

recognized quality healthcare.

HOW SAFE IS DUBAI

FOR MEDICAL TOURISTS

SEEKING OUT TREATMENT

AND/OR MEDICAL

PROCEDURES?

Dr. Marzouqi: Healthcare is never

one hundred percent safe anywhere

in the world and no one can

guarantee this. Complications can

happen and medical errors can also

happen. But we reduce it as much as

possible so though it’s not completely

preventable, it certainly is reducible.

We have a very clear and transparent

way of dealing with medical error if it

were to happen. We publish our data

so medical tourists have a portal to

go to view the complaints and they

know there is a government body

behind this. They can write to us--

our channels are open with 24-hour

hotlines. If a medical tourist goes

home and if there is a case, there is

often no need to come back. We have

started our ‘e-investigation’ branch

which can be done through Skype

calling unless the committee wants

to examine the patient then they can

come back to Dubai to make it easier

for the patient. This does not mean

medical error is high in Dubai—no-

-but that we are transparent and

have the talent and experience in

case something goes wrong. Plus,

we have introduced insurance for

the medical tourist which is very

unique and Dubai always does

everything in a unique way. This

once again does not mean things

go wrong in Dubai but this is an

extra bit of assurance we give our

medical tourists who come here. In

case something goes wrong after an

operation or a medical procedure,

if you have this insurance, the

insurance company will bring you

back to Dubai within a one-month

time frame and take the expense

on their shoulders; they pay for

the tickets for you and a family

member in case something went

wrong. So what this means is that

the system is strong and quality

measures are in place and patient

safety is a priority.

WHAT ARE SOME

KEY CHANGES THAT

HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN

MEDICAL TOURISM IN

DUBAI WITHIN THE LAST

10 YEARS?

Dr. Marzouqi: In Dubai, 10 years

is too long. So from 2012 to 2015,

there was a mutation in medical

tourism in Dubai. It was a huge

jump. From 2012 we had 107K

medical tourists and in 2015, in

just the first quarter alone there

were 250K medical tourists for

our 16 hospitals. The reason we

only have 16 hospitals is because

we want quality kind of data to be

presented to decision makers that

is of the utmost quality and which

is validatable. We’ve gone through

a lot, introduced our medical

visa packages, our club, medical

insurance, our branding, and our

website. We won two prestigious

awards and today in this event,

we won our third. In May 2015,

we won an award in ‘Innovation

in Medical Tourism’ in Greece, in

September we won an award in

Dubai as ‘Medical Destination of

the Year’.

YOU HAVE BEEN AN

OFFICIAL BODY IN THE

GOVERNMENT SINCE 2012

YET YOU HAVE MADE SO

MUCH PROGRESS IN THREE

YEARS ALONE. PLEASE TALK

ABOUT THIS

Dr. Marzouqi: I have been in charge of

this project for the past one year; the

insurance, the club and the awards have

happened in this time. The team before

me had worked on the visas and the

packages. Dubai is already a hub for

medical tourism. Everyone knows about

Dubai. Our market targets GCC, people

from CIS countries as well as Africa who

are coming to Dubai. Our goal is to make

Dubai the fastest growing city in medical

tourism in the region and number 15

worldwide. In fact, the other award we got

this year in October was from the Medical

Tourism Association in the US who

ranked Dubai as number 17 worldwide

for medical tourism. So we are not far

from the number 15 ranking and we

may actually have to change our ranking

objective.

WHAT ROLE IS THE

EXPO 2020 EXPECTED

TO PLAY ON MEDICAL

TOURISM?

Dr. Marzouqi: Expo 2020 is an

opportunity for everyone and

medical tourism is no different.

That’s why the DHA with their

strategic plan are already planning

how many beds, healthcare

professionals, and the number of

nurses and doctors we will need by

then and we are trying to encourage

investment in the UAE. We want to

have more beds and more medical

facilities but in an organized

manner whereby quality is not

compromised. This is why we issue

certificates of need for healthcare

professionals, facilities and services

that come into the UAE. The fact is

that whatever Dubai takes on board,

it always does in a very unique way.

Our awards speak for themselves.

Jan/Feb 2016