The U.A.E. Healthcare Sector Overview

If you've been tracking UAE's stellar economic growth in the recent past, you'd be aware that the country is the most diversified market today. 
Every sector is all set to benefit positively from the incoming reforms. But for the healthcare sector, it looks like the sky's the limit. 
With telemedicine apps, bots, medical tourism, etc., UAE has excelled in remote healthcare delivery. So what makes UAE's healthcare sector a global talking point today?

Let's find out.

Component #1: Financial growth
There will be a whopping 10% growth in the CAGR for the UAE Healthcare sector between 2019 to 2023. The factors responsible:

• The government is taking initiatives to expand other sectors of the economy, besides oil and gas,
• it is keen on bringing in foreign investment to boost its healthcare sector in terms of technology and human resources,
• private hospitals are being offered lucrative incentives to upscale their operations.

The focus is on encouraging healthcare facilities to offer as many health services as possible so that the accessibility of healthcare in the UAE increases manifold.

Component #2: Digital adoption 
Several instances of digital adoption in the UAE are:

• regulators and practitioners in the UAE are actively leveraging the benefits of robotics, AI, Blockchain, and cognitive assistance,
• biometric computing is becoming a part of UAE's healthcare setup, ensuring precision diagnosis and better treatment outcomes,
• telemedicine is being accepted as a convenient and accessible treatment delivery system, and
• more than half of Abu Dhabi’s hospitals are fully automated and digitally connected within a year of the launch of Malaffi, UAE’s first Health Information Exchange (HIE) platform. 

Component #3: Medical tourism and migrations
The UAE is in a prime position today to boost its medical tourism. How?

• the way the government managed the COVID-19 crisis has positioned the UAE as a brilliant option for medical tourism, and
• UAE overcame its traditional shortage of medical talent to take up healthcare delivery and academic research projects.
• Besides, administrative measures have fueled a massive influx of professionals lately. 
• 2020 was the inaugural year for one such measure — golden visas for doctors. They grant doctors a 10-year tenure to live and work in the country. More than 200 doctors received golden visas as a token of appreciation. 

Component #4: Fastest growing domains
The UAE Pharma industry is a key beneficiary of the growing healthcare sector. Here's how:

• UAE companies and foreign players are signing agreements for local manufacturing, changing the UAE's traditional position as a dependent drug importer,
• diagnostic imaging equipment from UAE now has an international reputation, and buyers, and
• telemedicine is a high-priority project for the government, making the expansion of the healthcare IT industry inevitable. 

The growth of the healthcare IT sector is evident in two instances:

• the collaboration of the Ministry of Health with the Emirates Integrated Telecommunication Company PJSC
• the growing demand for telemedicine apps. 

Component #5: Opportunities in UAE's Healthcare Sector
The government is pushing for greater reforms. As a result, there are several private and public hospital projects underway. 
The requirement for healthcare professionals is increasing day by day in the country. It is coupled with a rising influx of medical tourists and the emergence of new variants of the COVID-19 virus. 
Not just skilled doctors but also allied health staff, including nurses, lab technicians, etc., are in demand.

The Best Is Yet To Come
The UAEs Vision 2040 is a remarkable example for other countries to follow. It prioritizes healthcare development like never before. Under the purview of the same project, the industry’s overall growth is taking shape at an exponential rate today. 
So, you can expect many things to come up that may change the future of UAE’s healthcare forever.