Apps are among the latest services offered to the community

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 26, 2016

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) highlighted during the 41st Arab Health Exhibition and Conference, several apps that will be available to the public.

At the DHA stand at Arab Health, the DHA displayed its smart services. The apps included the Tifli( my baby) app for pregnant women, Hayati app for diabetic patients and Dawaee app, which is a medication reminder app.

Amani Al Jassmi, Director of Information Technology at the DHA, said: "DHA's smart health initiatives are in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and are aligned with the Dubai smart government approach to transform Dubai into a smart city so that government organizations in Dubai provide their customers with smart services that are convenient and can be accessed through various kinds of technology."

Al Jassmi said that the introduction of the latest medical applications would directly benefit the UAE community.

Tifli ( my baby) app:

The Tifli( my baby) app is available on apple store and google play. It provides information for pregnant women from preconception until the baby is two years. App users can reschedule or cancel a doctor's appointment, they have access to videos and articles on best practices during different stages of pregnancy, they can track their baby's growth and weekly milestones, and they can monitor their labour pain and understand their contractions better to know when they should visit a hospital. They can also use the app to make an emergency call to their husband or registered family member.

App users will also have information about breastfeeding, ways to overcome breastfeeding difficulties, breastfeeding techniques and best nutritional practices.

DHA is keen to focus on all aspects of smart healthcare. The aim of developing several healthcare apps is to provide customers with easy access to vital information and services for their convenience and to empower them to make healthy choices and keep track of their health.

Dawaaee app:

This is a patient medication reminder app, which will be available soon.

Dr. Ali Al Sayed, Director of the Pharmaceutical Services Department at the DHA said: "The Dawaaee app will help in patient compliance as patients will receive timely reminders to take their medications. This directly helps in better treatment results. Therefore, smart health is the way forward and is an important focus of the DHA.

"Forgetfulness due to busy lifestyles is one of the top reasons people miss their medication. Therefore, we wanted to help patients remember to take their medications by leveraging the capabilities of a smart phone, smart watch etc. so that it is convenient for them and fits into their daily routine. The Dawaaee app has a host of features, is extremely easy to use and will provide patients with convenience and hassle-free medication management options."

Al Sayed said that the app auto-imports a patient's current medication list if the patient has a registered file with any of the DHA hospitals and health centres.  If the patient visits private healthcare providers, they need to feed the information in, which is also quite simple and takes just a couple of minutes.

The app allows patients to create custom reminders based on location, activity or time to more naturally fit into their routine.

Al Sayed said: "The app also provides re-fill reminders five days prior to the date of refill so that the patient can pick up the next stock of medication from the pharmacy. This ensures continuity and no unnecessary break in the medication course."

Another feature that is particularly useful in this region is the family profile option.  Al Sayed said: "A lot of elderly parents live with their children in the UAE and therefore we added the family option feature which enables children to add on the profile of their parents so that they get reminders for when their parents need to consume their medications. This empowers them to keep track of their parent's medication schedule.

This feature can also be used by parents if they have a child that needs to take long-term medications."

App users can also ask a pharmacist any question related to their medications and they will receive an answer within 24 hours.

Hayati app:

This diabetes management app is available on google play and will soon be available on Apple store. It empowers Type1 and Type 2 diabetics to take control of their diabetes through easy self-management techniques.

Al Jassmi said: "Given the high prevalence of diabetes in the country and the fact that self-management of diabetes makes a positive impact in controlling blood sugar levels, we felt that launching such an app will significantly benefit the community. Among the various features of the app, a particularly useful feature is that diabetics can directly transfer glucometer reading on to the app and if the patient is registered with a DHA health facility, results are automatically exported to the patient's file.

"App users can also press the emergency tab and two registered family members as well as 999 will receive an immediate notification."

The app can be customised and users can opt to receive daily reminders to take their medication, they will also get notifications if their blood sugar reading is low or high.

The app also provides useful information about diet tips, dos and don'ts to help keep blood sugar levels under control.

-Ends-

About the Dubai Health Authority:
The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) was created, in June 2007, by Law 13 issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, with an expanded vision to include strategic oversight for the complete health sector in Dubai and enhance private sector engagement. His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance is the President of the DHA and His Excellency Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qatami is the chairman of the board of the DHA.

The DHA's aim in Dubai is to provide an accessible, effective and integrated healthcare system, protect public health and improve the quality of life within the Emirate. This is a direct translation of the objectives of the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Keeping the strategic plan in mind, the DHA's mission is to ensure access to health services, maintain and improve the quality of these services, improve the health status of nationals, residents and visitors and oversee a dynamic, efficient and innovative health sector.

In addition to overseeing the health sector for the Emirate of Dubai, the DHA also focuses on providing services through DHA healthcare facilities including hospitals (Latifa, Dubai, Rashid and Hatta), specialty centres (e.g. the Dubai Diabetes Center) and DHA primary health centres spread throughout the Emirate of Dubai.

The main pillars of service delivery at DHA health facilities are quality, efficiency, patients and staff.  It is our aim to maintain and improve the quality and efficiency of DHA health services. An important aspect of the service delivery strategy is to focus on patients, their needs and satisfaction as well as attract, retain, nurture and support outstanding staff.

Prior to the establishment of the DHA, the Department of Health and Medical Services (DOHMS), which was established in 1973, was the functioning authority that almost exclusively focused on health service delivery.

© Press Release 2016