Docs can now take e-exams from anywhere

Doctors will be able to apply and sit for online examinations from anywhere in the world once Dubai's new online licensing system kicks in, XPRESS has learnt. Mubaraka Ebrahim, IT Director of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), said the new online licensing system will be launched at the Gitex exhibition next month. Fully automated "The fully automated licensing system is the first of its kind in the Middle East. Doctors will no longer be required to come to Dubai to apply for licences or take exams. Everything can be done online," she said in an exclusive interview to XPRESS. DHA has tied up with Prometric Services, a global provider of comprehensive testing and assessment services, Mubaraka said. The process of verifying credentials will also be done electronically. "DHA will be able to verify the qualifications and certifications of doctors online." Shedding light on other upcoming IT projects, Mubaraka said DHA will also launch iPhone applications for the public at Gitex. These applications will enable them to access information about clinics, hospitals and doctors, besides checking medication profiles, lab and X-ray results and appointments. She regretted that the current Online Health Services (OHS) available on the DHA website is under-utilised. "The public should make full use of this facility as they can readily access online records of their appointments, medical reports, e-results of lab and X-ray tests and medications prescribed," she said. "A health card number is essential to get started." Mubaraka said the service is a prelude to a strategic plan to implement a grand project called Electronic Medical Record (EMR), which will eventually be upgraded to Electronic Health Record (EHR). "We are finalising a vendor for the implementation of EMR, which will be up and running by 2013," she said. Under EMR, all information about a patient would be available to DHA doctors online, while EHR will help connect with the private sector and provide full access to patients. "Around 60 per cent of this information is already available to them on the OHS," said Mubaraka. She said the DHA will also be launching a call centre by the end of this year. The centre will address all public inquiries regarding information on clinics, doctors, vaccinations and procedures. "We will disclose the hotline number soon," she said. At a glance With Online Health Services (OHS), you can track/change appointments with DHA doctors, get medical reports, e-results of lab or X-ray tests, medication profiles and also initiate file transfer between centres and hospitals. But first you need a health card number which you can get by visiting www.dha.gov.ae. That done, register yourself for Health Services under e-services. The Health Card number is your user ID, while the password is provided by DHA after verifying your credentials.