Abu Dhabi Telemedicine Centre (ADTC) has revealed it has successfully renewed its data certification for 2020, following its achievement of obtaining its “highest-ever” audit score. The centre scored 98.7% during its virtual audit by JAWDA, the healthcare quality index developed by the Department of Health (DoH) Abu Dhabi.

A joint venture between the UAE’s Mubadala Development Company PJSC and Swiss telemedicine provider, Medgate AG, ADTC is home to a team of “trained and certified physicians and nurses” offering 24/7 non-emergency medical consultations to eligible Abu Dhabi and UAE residents.

THE LARGER CONTEXT

The JAWDA audit reportedly assessed the centre’s quality of coding, collection and submission of clinical data, as well as its role in Mubadala Healthcare’s initiatives to help contain COVID-19 this year.

“We are really proud of our caregivers, providing first-rate compassionate care to patients. The team of healthcare professionals managed to cope so well with an enormous increase in their workload during the pandemic, while at the same time meticulously following all the data-quality procedures stipulated by the DoH and JAWDA,” said Omar Fikree, acting CEO of ADTC. “COVID-19 brought into focus the importance of telemedicine and its role in optimising health resources, improving management of demand, and increasing access to healthcare services.”

Compared to pre-COVID-19 times, Fikree explained that calls to ADTC spiked by 2,000% during the start of the pandemic. The centre registered 68,524 calls between the months of March and July 2020, out of which included 22,311 completed teleconsultations and 15,289 medical cases.

Meanwhile, ADTC’s “Remote Care” initiative – a collaborative solution between Mubadala Healthcare and the DoH to support freeing up hospitals in Abu Dhabi from COVID-19 “by monitoring or treating at home patients who are asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms” – completed more than 10,940 patient consultations and 2,000 assessment calls.

“Now that people have realised the convenience of being able to call 24/7 for non-emergency health issues and have a same-day consultation with a physician in the comfort of their own homes, we are expecting demand to continue to rise. In turn, through our state-of-the-art facilities and world-class expert caregivers in telehealth – supported by the innovation drive at Mubadala Healthcare – ADTC is well positioned to lead the wave of transition in care delivery,” Fikree added.

ON THE RECORD

“As we enter the ‘new normal’ of community health, telemedicine is set to play an indispensable role in the future of medicine. It will support us to deliver and increase access to the healthcare services that patients now need the most, in a safe, secure and efficient manner,” stated Hasan Jasem Al Nowais, Senior VP of Mubadala Healthcare. “We congratulate ADTC for achieving such a remarkable score. This bears testament to its commitment to continuously improve its remote health technologies and to maintain its high standards, not only in delivering telemedicine services, but also in areas such as data management and processing.

“This accolade would not have been attainable without the astounding proficiency of our caregivers and their expertise in delivering telemedicine care.”