Abu Dhabi Telemedicine Centre, a joint venture between Mubadala Development Company PJSC (Mubadala) and Switzerland’s leading telemedicine provider, Medgate AG (Medgate), launched its innovative, new mobile application, TeleMed, this week, enabling greater interaction between patients and doctors in telemedicine consultations.

The Centre, which launched in October 2014, utilizes telemedicine, a globally proven form of healthcare delivery, to provide medical consultations over the phone. The new application – TeleMed – is the first of its kind in the UAE and makes the teleconsultation process more efficient and personalized by allowing patients and physicians to share medical information, including data and images on its confidential sharing platform to assist in the medical diagnosis process.

“One of the greatest industry trends seen this year at Arab Health was the adoption of technologies to streamline healthcare systems and provide high quality care. Telemedicine is a great example of how technology can support the diagnosis and treatment process, making personalized, high-quality medical advice both convenient and accessible to patients,” stated Semih Sen, Chairman, Abu Dhabi Telemedicine Centre. “The TeleMed app, which is one of the most advanced and interactive healthcare apps launched in the region, was designed to be very convenient and user friendly for patients, enabling them to provide medical information to their doctor at the Abu Dhabi Telemedicine Centre to support the diagnosis, so that they can get the expert care they need wherever they are, any time of the day or night at the touch of a button.”

TeleMed has a variety of user-friendly functions to support the medical consultation process over the phone:

• Quick Call allows patients to contact the Centre directly via the app at the touch of a button.
• Send Photos guides patients on how to take a picture, for example, of an affected skin area or medication label, and securely submit it to a doctor for review. A body map visual is also available for patients to mark where they feel pain, or are experiencing a specific issue.
• Find Provider allows patients to search for and locate a specialized doctor in their area for times when an in-person consultation is recommended by an Abu Dhabi Telemedicine Centre doctor.

“Our physicians are trained specifically in telemedicine – they guide patients through simple self-examination techniques over the phone, and ask a series of questions to help in the diagnosis process. With the TeleMed app, patients now have the ability to securely send images related to their health concern at the touch of a button directly to our state-of-the art Patient Management System. These images are then channeled into the patients’ electronic medical record, and used confidentially by our physicians in order to help diagnose their medical condition,” said Hasan Al Attas, General Manager, Abu Dhabi Telemedicine Centre.

When discussing the many benefits of telemedicine, Al Attas stated: “UAE healthcare studies show that patients are visiting health clinics multiple times for each medical condition they have. Abu Dhabi Telemedicine Centre is a convenient and effective alternative for these patients – enabling them to receive expert medical advice for a variety of health conditions within minutes of their initial call, without having to experience the long queues and noisy waiting rooms of a hospital or clinic. Many of our patients live in areas where they are used to having to drive long distances to speak with a doctor, whereas now their doctor is just a phone call away. And now, they can get advice on skin conditions or their medications simply by submitting photos through the app.”

Abu Dhabi Telemedicine Centre services are offered exclusively through the National Health Insurance Company - Daman, to its Thiqa and Daman Enhanced plan members. Currently, approximately 1.2 million patients across the UAE have 24/7 access to the Centre’s high quality healthcare provided over the phone.