DUBAI HEALTHCARE CITY OPENS MEDICAL LICENSING TO NEW REGIONS INCLUDING SOUTH AMERICA, EAST EUROPE

Sunday, Jul 28, 2019

Doctors and dentists from countries in South America, East Europe, and West Africa, among others, can now apply for a license to practice in Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) in accordance with new guidelines announced by the free zone’s regulator Dubai Healthcare City Authority – Regulatory (DHCR).

This year, 10 new countries and regions - Colombia, Cyprus, Estonia, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Slovenia, West Africa and West Indies, have been added to DHCC’s licensing framework. With these new jurisdictions, DHCC now recognizes qualifications of healthcare professionals from more than 100 countries.  

Increasing interest from professionals from these regions has been taken into consideration as well as stringent standards, explained Dr. Ramadan AlBlooshi, Chief Regulatory Officer, Dubai Healthcare City Authority. “To strengthen our licensing framework, we consider several factors in critical areas such as certification by accredited institutions and boards as well as benchmarking and international standards. We evaluate professional qualification, clinical experience and publications,” he said, adding, “We remain committed to diversifying and expanding the talent pool of healthcare professionals in the free zone.”     

The demand for qualified healthcare professionals in Dubai is expected to increase as the UAE prepares to welcome more than 25 million visitors for Expo 2020. In this context, the free zone is working towards increasing quality care offerings through multicultural and multilingual specialists to cater to both local and visitor populations. Currently, the DHCC Community has more than 4,200 licensed professionals from 111 countries, who speak around 40 languages.

Along with expanding the licensing framework, DHCC has introduced guidelines for consultant titles, offering much-needed flexibility for physicians and dentists seeking this title. DHCC now recognizes any globally-recognized clinical journal; previously it was only MEDLINE, a US-based digital library of life sciences and biomedical information.

In doing so, DHCC contributes to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who, in his Fifty-Year Charter, mandates ‘A Doctor to Every Citizen’.

For more, read the General Licensure Requirements for Healthcare Professionals and Licensure Requirements for Physician and Dentists Guidance for Applicants via dhcr.gov.ae.