Centre of Digital Health established to develop pioneering data and digital services platforms in Abu Dhabi

In line with its ongoing efforts to improve the quality of care provided to patients, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), the regulator of the healthcare sector in the Emirate, Pure Health, the largest integrated healthcare platform in the UAE, and G42 Healthcare, Abu Dhabi based leading health tech company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the Centre of Digital Health (CDH) in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. CDH seeks to develop robust data platforms and accelerate digital services that elevate the healthcare sector, thereby reiterating the Emirate’s position as a leading digital healthcare destination.

Through this MoU, and under the supervision of DoH, the partners will establish a joint venture to launch CDH in the Emirate, leveraging ‘Malaffi’, the region's first Health Information Exchange platform and ‘Shafafeya’ platform, to collect, process, and analyse healthcare and patient data. CDH is focused on integrating the latest AI technologies and big data that will ultimately contribute to decision-making processes, creating policies, conducting scientific and clinical research, as well as real-world evidence. The Centre will provide its services to the relevant bodies, such as government entities, healthcare providers, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, academia and research institutions, and start-ups, among others. In coordination with DoH, CDH will follow international best practices to ensure the privacy and security of patients’ records.

H.E. Dr. Jamal Mohammed Al Kaabi, Undersecretary of DoH, Shaista Asif, Group COO of Pure Health, and H.E Mansoor Al Mansoori, Group COO of G42, signed the MoU in the presence of H.E. Abdulla bin Mohamed Al Hamed, Chairman of DoH.

H.E. Dr. Jamal Mohammed Al Kaabi said: “Under the directives of our wise leadership, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi continues to solidify Abu Dhabi’s position as a life science incubator and a regional and international digital health destination, thanks to its advanced infrastructure and digital capabilities. Through this joint venture, we look forward to harnessing health data in accordance with the highest standards of information security to further enhance healthcare outcomes in the Emirate and provide quality healthcare to all the members of the community. Establishing the Centre of Digital Health is another testament to the effectiveness of public-private partnerships and the efforts made in exchanging health information in the Emirate.”

Shaista Asif, Group Chief Operating Officer of Pure Health, said: “In the ever-evolving healthcare sector, the importance of data analytics cannot be overemphasized. At Pure Health, we are constantly working towards achieving Technological Singularity.

As we evolve ourselves to leverage the compute power that is increasing in quantum leaps, and make AI based outcomes a norm, the Centre of Digital Health (CDH) will be a key pillar for Pure Health. The Centre will enable our drive to improve health outcomes through pre-emptive detection, predictive diagnostics and personalized medicine.

Pure Health is delighted to collaborate with Department of Health – Abu Dhabi and G42 Healthcare on the launch of the Centre of Digital Health (CDH), that will contribute to our vision in enhancing longevity and enabling healthier and longer lives for the citizens and residents of the UAE. As a partner in this endeavour, we are committed to use the data responsibly to drive meaningful innovation for better health outcomes delivered optimally through a tech-enabled eco-system.”

As part of the collaboration, DoH Abu Dhabi and G42 Healthcare will work together to develop solutions that provide value to a variety of healthcare ecosystem participants, from patients, providers, payers, regulators, to pharma, and beyond. G42 Healthcare will use its proprietary HealthSight platform to power the unification of multimodal healthcare datasets and enable insight generation through advance analytics and machine learning.

Ashish Koshy, Chief Executive Officer of G42 Healthcare, said, “The range of solutions we are developing will not only help achieve the primary goal of healthcare such as better outcomes through patient-centric care, but will also enable reduction in cost of care, improved experience for patients and care staff including physicians and nurses.”

He added, “We are proud to partner with Department of Health – Abu Dhabi on the Center of Digital Health (CDH) that will ultimately strengthen the healthcare systems in UAE. We are confident that we can effectively address rising health challenges through meaningful and responsible use of technology and partnerships to fast-track sustainable healthcare solutions in the UAE and beyond.”

In line with the ongoing efforts to enhance patient experience and improve the quality of healthcare and patient outcomes in Abu Dhabi, ‘Malaffi’ has recently announced that all public and private hospitals in the Emirate are now connected to the platform. This was an important milestone towards allowing healthcare providers to safely exchange important patient health information in real-time, creating a centralised database of unified patient records.