DUBAI // Robotic doctors are the latest innovations on trial at a Dubai hospital to help improve patient services.
The Dubai Robo Doc in use at Hatta Hospital is part of a new scheme that allows doctors to evaluate patients remotely and it will soon be rolled out to about 15 hospitals around the country.
The technology was on show at Dubai Health Authority’s two-day interactive health forum, Dubai Health Towards The Future, which looks at the development of health services.
More than 90 healthcare professionals from the Government and private sector including hospitals, clinics, the pharmaceutical industry, health insurers, medical equipment and technology companies took part.
Dubai Robo Doc is helping reduce costs. A conventional doctor evaluating a patient at a clinic costs about $90 (Dh330), whereas Robo Doc can do it for about $40.
Emergency and trauma specialist Dr Moin Fikree, clinical director and consultant at Rashid Hospital, said it is the future of healthcare.
“Robo Doc has built-in features that help doctors examine a patient from afar,” he said.
At the conference, a video showed the robot in action. The machine, mounted with a screen showing the human doctor, was wheeled into an emergency room to evaluate a patient injured in a road traffic incident in Hatta.
The patient had been thrown 50 metres from his vehicle and sustained several serious injuries.
Emergency room doctors in Hatta had requested help from Dr Fikree and his trauma team at Rashid Hospital 130 kilometres away and, using Robo Doc, they were immediately available.
“We can then zoom in and look at lab results, vital signs, skin tone and X-ray to evaluate,” said Dr Fikree, who added that Robo Doc could also be used to give an early diagnosis in stroke patients.
“We can then give the right advice to ER doctors. Previously, we would have required someone to visit the hospital to make these tests. This is the future of healthcare.”
Phase two will see similar specialised equipment installed in ambulances to speed up diagnosis on the way to hospital.
Healthcare models from around the world were used as examples of good and bad practice at the health forum, so Government officials can cherry pick the best solutions for problems here and apply them.
Dr Andrew Jones, from the Oliver Wyman Health Innovation Centre, said the UAE is facing similar issues to that in the UK with regards to its ageing population and increased prevalence of obesity and diabetes.
“The question for policymakers in the UK is how to work with the current National Health Service system to develop it for the future,” he said.
The science of prevention and the involvement of big business could revolutionise the way we are cared for in future, experts at the forum said.
Peyvand Khaleghian, director of Amana Healthcare, said: “It’s good to have a forum like this where the private sector, government, industry and the community are talking together about healthcare in Dubai.
“Everyone is trying to see which of theses examples from elsewhere is best suited here.
“It is not about which one is suitable as a whole but looking at the different elements of these models that are most suitable for Dubai.”
As part of the forum, members of the health sector were divided into eight groups and each team discussed three topics - prevention, service delivery and continuum of care.
All the suggestions and feedback from the health sector will be analysed.
Humaid Al Qatami, chairman of the board of the DHA, said: “The central objective of a robust health system is to ensure in times of need, everyone has easy access to the highest quality of health services.”
nwebster@thenational.ae