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The Fine Print of Health Care in Dubai

By: Move Forward


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Dubai is one of the federacies in the United Arab Emirates. Amongst the its seven other brother emirates, it is the most advanced as well as commercially progressive through the creation of free trade zones in the country. These business havens have encouraged high investment flows into the emirate.

The system of healthcare in Dubai is recognized for its quality and is at par with the facilities offered in many developed countries. The hospitals are located in strategic locations throughout Dubai to provide easy access to the residents of the emirate. These public hospitals are run by the government’s Department of Health and Medical Services. The result is free or very low cost medical services for the emirate’s residents. Overall, there is no obligatory state or employer contribution insurance coverages and instead there are many private health care providers. Many medical professionals are from other countries such as the United States, Europe, India, Pakistan and Egypt.

The current government policy is providing patient-specific health care for its residents. This program includes immunization, vaccinations, psychiatric treatment, medical fitness, marriage and family counseling, yoga therapy, rehabilitation medicine and health and nutrition education. One of the best aspects of the system of healthcare in Dubai is the post-clinic private medical calls. All residents are provided with the proper medical attention regardless of nationality. These include diagnostic visits, specialist private consultations and regular clinic consultations. All the costs of these medical check-ups are fully reimbursable from their insurance providers upon presentation of the doctor’s receipts.

Currently, the largest program being undertaken by the government is the establishment of the Dubai Healthcare City. This city has a fully functional Medical Center with the Harvard Medical School Dubai teaching center and the Boston University Institute of Dental Research and Education Dubai. As for the private sector, there is the proliferation of private health care insurance providers. Since healthcare in Dubai provides no compulsory coverage, the private sector responds to this need.

The number of patients in the public hospitals is mostly expatriates seeking assistance for their health conditions. In order to provide a more balanced care for all, medical services are no longer free for expatriates but are still heavily subsidized. This was further tightened when admissible foreign patients can only be serviced by public hospitals. When a life threatening case does come along, be it local or foreign, the full service is provided free of charge.

One aspect of the system of healthcare in Dubai is the ban on sleeping pills and anti depressants from being sold over the counter. These can only be obtained by prescription under strict conditions. Medicines overall are quite expensive in Dubai. So in order for one to be reimbursed by their health insurance provider, all receipts and prescriptions need to be submitted.

Overall, the system of healthcare in Dubai is one of the best in the world. It is different though as there is no universal coverage, so private health coverage assumes the cost of medical care. As advised in the Expat Forum, “when choosing private health insurance companies or health maintenance organizations, the amount of cover, the health cases that can be covered, and the general medical benefits that can be obtained by the insured should be looked at.”

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

This article has been provided by Jose Marc Castro, the online editor at the Expat Forum.com- the primary online community for expats. The site also provides information and advice on matters such as healthcare in Dubai.

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