Dubai, United Arab Emirates, July 28, 2022: The Dubai Health Authority announced that it has obtained institutional accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME-I) to accredit 32 training programs in various medical specialties over the next four years.

This achievement comes as a translation of the cooperation agreement signed by the authority with the ACGME-I recently, and as part of the continuous efforts made by the Dubai Health Authority to raise the level of efficiency and quality of health services provided by health facilities in Dubai to be in line with the best international standards and practices that focus on quality and patient safety. This will enhance the competitiveness of the health system in Dubai as an ideal destination for health and medical tourism, and as a leading destination in the field of medical education, research and scientific innovation.

His Excellency Awad Saghir Al Ketbi, Director General of the Dubai Health Authority, stressed the importance of this achievement, which comes at a stage where the health sector in Dubai is witnessing successive developments and advanced steps towards new horizons of excellence in health services and integration with academic programs, which contributes to enhancing the competitiveness of this sector and Dubai's position as a leading destination for healthcare.

He stressed the commitment of the authority’s academic programs (residency and fellowship) to apply world-class standards and requirements for efficiency and quality that characterize medical training programs in the United States of America. This enables the Dubai Health Authority to graduate national and resident physicians in greater numbers from the public and private sectors to supplement our health system with a high level of medical competence and skill comparable to the level enjoyed by peer professionals in the United States.

Al Ketbi also explained that adherence to and implemtation of global institutional standards effectively contribute to supporting the emirate's leadership in academic education and scientific research in the fields of medicine and health sciences, and developing, attracting and retaining medical and research capabilities, and promoting Emiratization in all medical specialties.

As for Dr Wadeia Muhammad Sharif, Director of Medical Education and Research Department in DHA, referred to the institutional accreditation requirements as a big support to the academic and clinical environment to carry out scientific and clinical research in which young trainees and specialists take part in, which seeks to advance the health outcomes of individuals and society, especially in the field of patient safety and quality provided, based on the latest scientific evidence.

She stated that DHA obtaining institutional accreditation from the ACGME-I opens the door wide to start the phase of accrediting training programs whether residency or fellowship programs in all Dubai Health sectors, as achieving institutional accreditation first is a necessary requirement before proceeding with achieving advanced program accreditation in various medical specialties.

She added that the signing of the agreement between DHA and (ACGME-I) opens the door for 32 specialized programs in Dubai for accreditation over the next four years, which contributes to increasing the number of graduate medical education programs in medical specialties aligned with Dubai's aspirations and requirements for its present and future health sector, such as clinical informatics, public health, genomics and aviation medicine, and others, which contributes to the development and strengthening of institutional capabilities and competencies necessary to manage health facilities and their organizational units. 

Dr Wadeia also explained that the first program accreditation phase will include six medical specialties: internal medicine, general surgery, family medicine, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and diagnostic radiology.

For his part, President and CEO of the (ACGME-I), Dr. James Arrighi, during his visit to the DHA, stressed that the signing of the cooperation agreement comes in line with achieving the council’s vision to develop health care and advance the quality of training and medical education through accreditation. He said that we are working to protect the interests and rights of the trainees and develop the quality of training, education, research and professional practice in an effort to benefit the community served by our accredited programs and the young physicians who graduate from them.