emirates7 - The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) convened a coordination meeting with representatives from private hospitals to explore ways to enhance the national newborn screening program and ensure its full compliance with the UAE’s approved national standards under federal health laws.
This meeting reflects the Ministry’s dedication to advancing proactive healthcare and maintaining top-quality preventive health services.
These efforts are guided by the Cabinet Resolution on newborn medical screening and directives from the Health Regulation Sector, which establish the procedures, standards, and regulatory framework for conducting newborn screenings.
Key measures include continuous monitoring and validation of tests for accuracy, alongside thorough clinical and biochemical evaluations.
The meeting aimed to bolster MoHAP’s work in standardizing the regulatory and technical procedures of newborn screening, ensuring high precision and efficiency in the early detection of genetic disorders, hereditary diseases, and other health issues.
Supporting these initiatives is ‘Riayati,’ the digital healthcare platform linked to the National Unified Medical Record (NUMR) program. Riayati features an integrated database and provides innovative solutions for automation and health data management.
This platform enhances patient safety, boosts service efficiency and quality, facilitates timely access to patient records, supports informed clinical decisions, and advances MoHAP’s goals for preventive healthcare and service improvement.
Discussions covered strategic topics such as a thorough review of the UAE Cabinet Resolution on newborn medical screening, which details the screening procedures, protocols, and regulatory framework. This includes follow-up on test results, accuracy checks, clinical and biochemical assessments, as well as standard protocols for hearing screening and detection of critical congenital heart defects.
The meeting also examined circulars from the Health Regulation Sector designed to ensure uniform and consistent application of newborn screening across both public and private healthcare providers, and to raise public awareness about the importance of these screenings.
The newborn screening program operates through a unified network of government and private hospitals throughout the UAE, laying the groundwork for a coordinated approach to early detection, prevention of complications, and designation of specialized reference laboratories.
MoHAP emphasized that protecting newborn health is a strategic priority within the UAE’s national healthcare system. The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to delivering integrated preventive and therapeutic healthcare services aligned with the latest international standards and advanced medical practices.
Furthermore, MoHAP stressed the importance of fostering a disease prevention culture supported by advanced healthcare systems that provide sustainable healthy lifestyles for all community segments.
The Ministry highlighted the vital role of effective collaboration with the private health sector, considering it a key partner in achieving national health goals.
It underlined that continuous coordination and knowledge exchange across all healthcare sectors are essential for building a resilient, integrated healthcare system.
MoHAP explained that newborn screening involves collecting blood samples for biochemical testing at the National Reference Laboratory to detect potential health conditions, especially hereditary disorders.
The screening also includes hearing tests to identify impairments, cardiac exams to detect critical congenital heart defects, and any additional tests introduced following global best practices.
This meeting reflects the Ministry’s dedication to advancing proactive healthcare and maintaining top-quality preventive health services.
These efforts are guided by the Cabinet Resolution on newborn medical screening and directives from the Health Regulation Sector, which establish the procedures, standards, and regulatory framework for conducting newborn screenings.
Key measures include continuous monitoring and validation of tests for accuracy, alongside thorough clinical and biochemical evaluations.
The meeting aimed to bolster MoHAP’s work in standardizing the regulatory and technical procedures of newborn screening, ensuring high precision and efficiency in the early detection of genetic disorders, hereditary diseases, and other health issues.
Supporting these initiatives is ‘Riayati,’ the digital healthcare platform linked to the National Unified Medical Record (NUMR) program. Riayati features an integrated database and provides innovative solutions for automation and health data management.
This platform enhances patient safety, boosts service efficiency and quality, facilitates timely access to patient records, supports informed clinical decisions, and advances MoHAP’s goals for preventive healthcare and service improvement.
Discussions covered strategic topics such as a thorough review of the UAE Cabinet Resolution on newborn medical screening, which details the screening procedures, protocols, and regulatory framework. This includes follow-up on test results, accuracy checks, clinical and biochemical assessments, as well as standard protocols for hearing screening and detection of critical congenital heart defects.
The meeting also examined circulars from the Health Regulation Sector designed to ensure uniform and consistent application of newborn screening across both public and private healthcare providers, and to raise public awareness about the importance of these screenings.
The newborn screening program operates through a unified network of government and private hospitals throughout the UAE, laying the groundwork for a coordinated approach to early detection, prevention of complications, and designation of specialized reference laboratories.
MoHAP emphasized that protecting newborn health is a strategic priority within the UAE’s national healthcare system. The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to delivering integrated preventive and therapeutic healthcare services aligned with the latest international standards and advanced medical practices.
Furthermore, MoHAP stressed the importance of fostering a disease prevention culture supported by advanced healthcare systems that provide sustainable healthy lifestyles for all community segments.
The Ministry highlighted the vital role of effective collaboration with the private health sector, considering it a key partner in achieving national health goals.
It underlined that continuous coordination and knowledge exchange across all healthcare sectors are essential for building a resilient, integrated healthcare system.
MoHAP explained that newborn screening involves collecting blood samples for biochemical testing at the National Reference Laboratory to detect potential health conditions, especially hereditary disorders.
The screening also includes hearing tests to identify impairments, cardiac exams to detect critical congenital heart defects, and any additional tests introduced following global best practices.