Department of Health - Abu Dhabi links Malaffi with Riyati and Nabidh medical record platforms

UAE health authorities including the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), Department of Health - Abu Dhabi (DoH), and Dubai Health Authority (DHA) have announced the successful linking of Riayati, the National Unified Medical Record (NUMR), Malaffi and Nabidh platforms.

The announcement was made during a press conference held at Emirates Health platform during which the three entities signed an agreement to electronically link the three platforms. The ceremony was held on the sidelines of Arab Health 2023 taking place in Dubai World Trade Centre from January 30 to February 2.

H.E. Ahmed Ali Al Dashti, Assistant Undersecretary for the Support Services Sector, MoHAP, H.E. Ahmed Abdullah Al Nuaimi, CEO of Corporate Shared Support Services Sector at DHA, and H.E. Dr Hamed Ali Al Hashemi, Advisor to the Chairman of DoH, signed the agreement.

The press conference was also attended by Ali Al Ajmi, Director of the Digital Health Department, MoHAP, and Dr. Mohammad Al Redha, Director of Health Informatics and Smart Health Department, DHA.

This linking of digital platforms underpins strengthening the quality of medical services and achieving continuity of care in the UAE. It also marks an important achievement in the country’s healthcare field reflecting the digital transformation strategy aimed at creating a sustainable and efficient healthcare system that provides exceptional services to patients.

H.E. Ahmed Ali Al Dashti appreciated the outstanding efforts and the collaboration between the three parties, that aim to achieve the interests of the population and the state and its vision of reaching an integrated health system according to international standards.

Al Dashti said: "The successful integration of Riayati, Malaffi and Nabidh is considered a remarkable achievement in the field of healthcare, as it enables healthcare providers to make better medical decisions that are aligned to patients’ needs and ensures providing a better healthcare experience for citizens and residents in the country."

Speaking on the occasion, H.E. Dr Hamed Ali Al Hashemi said: "The integration of three platforms in the UAE is a step in the right direction towards enhancing community health and safety. It will establish the country as a distinguished model for exchanging health information, highly regarded by other health systems in the region.

"Data plays a crucial role in enhancing health systems. It helps doctors make decisions that perfectly suit patients and allows us to transform it into valuable information for developing programs and initiatives, creating policies, and improving the overall health of society. This further solidifies the UAE's position as a leader in digital health.”

For his part, Ali Al Ajmi said that the Unified National Health Platform aims to bring about a radical change in the digital transformation of the UAE’s healthcare sector, where it uses encryption to secure health information over a safe network. The linking of the Department of Health - Abu Dhabi’s Malaffi, and DHA’s Nabidh project into the Riayati platform has led to a significant increase in the number of medical records available on the system. Riayati platform has so far included 1.9 billion medical records for 9.5 million patients, which can be accessed by over 90,000 health service providers in 3,057 medical facilities.

Al Ajmi stressed that the private sector plays a vital role in the success of the Riayati platform, saying that the ministry is pleased with the growing engagement of private entities in the platform. Their participation is important for the success of the project, and helps bring healthcare services up to international standards.

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While emphasising the paramount importance of collaboration in crafting a healthcare model that stands tall among the finest in the world, Dr. Mohammad Al Redha stated that the successful integration of the three platforms into has been the result of the high level of coordination and shared goals between MoHAP, DHA and DoH.

Al Redha emphasised that the UAE’s healthcare sector is experiencing rapid development and consistent improvements, particularly in digital transformation, in which the UAE has made significant progress. He added that the Nabidh platform would not have been possible had it not been for DHA’s constant efforts aimed at providing the community with the best possible service and realising the nation's and Dubai's goals of achieving global competitiveness in the healthcare field.

Robert Denson, Acting CEO of Abu Dhabi Health Data Services (Malaffi), said that linking the three platforms with one another represents a crucial national accomplishment, as it realises the UAE's strategic goal of delivering top-notch healthcare services and enhancing the wellbeing of all citizens. This is a continuation of our recent successes and ongoing efforts to enhance our platform.

The platform integration will facilitate access to patient health information by doctors and healthcare providers throughout the UAE, improving patient care. Furthermore, healthcare providers will gain access to over 1.4 billion health records from 2,500 healthcare organisations connected to Malaffi.

Malaffi, the region’s first Health Information Exchange (HIE) platform, is one of the strategic initiatives launched by DoH. Additionally, DoH recently announced that all public and private hospitals in the Emirate are now connected to the platform. This is 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.

Malaffi provides easier access to medical records in which helps healthcare professionals to save the time and trouble of transferring previous medical records and avoid undergoing the same tests. The platform enables healthcare facilities to be more efficient and better coordinated providing safer care to across all the emirate.

MoHAP said it is committed to moving forward in line with the vision of the wise leadership, to elevate the health sector to the highest levels and strengthen means of cooperation and partnerships aligned with the future vision of the United Arab Emirates to become one of the leading countries in the world in terms of the quality of health care services.

The ministry is participating in Arab Health 2023, which is a forum for healthcare professionals in the Middle East and Africa, where the Ministry showcase the latest innovations, technologies, and programs in the healthcare field to elevate the healthcare services in the country.