Dr. Amin Hussein Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary for Medical Practices and Licensing at the Ministry of Health and Saleh Al Dhaheri, Chairman of Emirates Insurance Association and Fareed Lutfi, Secretary General of the Association the challenges facing insurance companies and performance development as well as ways of raising the health services in relation to the private health and pharmaceutical sector.

The meeting was held in the ministry's location in Abu Dhabi in the attendance of insurance companies and specialists in the field of medical practices and licensing in the ministry of health.

The health insurance representatives raised challenging points that may negatively affect the performance efficiency and lead to negative financial incomes of these companies such as raising the value of health insurance documents as well as the documents of the patients who are the actual beneficiaries of the health insurance services.

Dr. Amin Hussein Al Amiri, noted the importance of setting up a mechanism to reduce the effects of these challenges on the returns of health insurance services provided that this mechanism to be supported by certain legislations and regulations taking into consideration the need to reduce the costs differences in the health services between the emirates and achieve quality services.

The insurance companies raised their demands to find a way that would limit the misuse of health insurance services as well as diagnostic and therapeutic treatment too.

The Assistant Undersecretary for Medical Practices and Licensing emphasized the importance of providing excellent services by all healthcare practitioners; doctors of all specializations and health


institutions to patients on condition they consist with all medical ethics and morals. The Ministry of health organizes continuous meetings with local health authorities to follow up the regulation of medical practices and identify any medical shortages or mistakes that would negatively affect the quality of health insurance services.

Dr. Al Amiri assured the continuous communication with all healthcare providers of any updated information or data that may affect their performance positively or negatively. He also urged all community members to send a memo to the ministry about any medical violations that would affect the ethics of human medicine. The ministry is very serious in undertaking any procedures against such negative medical practices.

In response to the request of insurance companies to have a sufficient time in applying any issued by the ministry of health which may have a direct impact on their performance, Dr. Al Amiri added that such decisions take into consideration their gradual implementation and application periods.

About the cancellation of the bonus, Al Amiri revealed that such a practice conflicts with the ethics of pharmaceutical marketing as this profession provides a strategic commodity with medical humanitarian services. Setting up rates that violate the decisions, actual cost and price list of the ministry of health assures our role as a legislative and regulatory authority which does not allow such practices.

At the end of the meeting, the members agreed to form team members from the ministry of health and insurance companies to discuss the latest challenges and eliminate any obstacles or difficulties that may face the insurance companies or health sector in the UAE.