The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) announced the launch of the “Artificial Intelligence Policy in the Healthcare Field in Dubai”, the first of its kind in this specialized field in the UAE.
According to WAM, this policy aims to define the regulatory requirements for providing artificial intelligence solutions in this important field, and to define the ethical requirements for artificial intelligence solutions, in addition to defining the main roles and responsibilities of stakeholders involved in the development and use of artificial intelligence in health care.
The policy aims to set the legislative and regulatory framework for the use of artificial intelligence solutions in the healthcare sector and research and to enhance the level of interaction, communication, and cooperation between government health organizations, the private sector, and the scientific community on the applications of artificial intelligence to contribute to accelerating the development of services in this vital sector in the UAE, and support its long-term strategy to consolidate leadership in artificial intelligence.
Its scope extends to include all AI solutions related to healthcare services used by medical facilities, specialists, drug manufacturers, health insurance companies, public health centers, and researchers within the jurisdiction of the Dubai Health Authority.
For his part, Dr. Mohammed Al Redha, Director of Informatics and Smart Health Department at the Dubai Health Authority, said: “The term artificial intelligence refers to systems and devices that simulate human intelligence to perform tasks.” He added, “Artificial intelligence is manifested in a number of forms, including using artificial intelligence robots to perform surgery faster, providing assistance to the surgeon more efficiently, and using artificial intelligence to analyze important health information from a large set of data.”
Dr. Al Reda stressed that the policy of artificial intelligence in the healthcare field at the level of the Emirate of Dubai will benefit all health sectors that depend on artificial intelligence, as it is in line with the authority’s commitment to advancing the growth of the health sector and employing artificial intelligence for the benefit of patients and society.
In turn, Dr. Mahira Abdel Rahman, Information and Smart Health Policy Officer, said: “Through this policy, we seek to benefit from the capabilities of artificial intelligence to ensure smart management, work with high efficiency, and enhance productivity in the health field.”
“The policy has been formulated according to best clinical practices and emerging research,” she added, stressing that all AI solutions for healthcare are compatible with international and federal information laws, regulations and guidelines for the UAE and Dubai, especially with regard to human values, patient privacy, people’s rights and professional ethics in the long and short term.
Dr. Mahira stressed the importance of AI healthcare solutions being safe, supervised and monitored by professional users, and AI healthcare solutions that may directly affect people’s lives being carefully designed.
