Owners of private medical facilities will need to present an Emirates ID card to apply for or renew licences starting on April 1, the Ministry of Health said yesterday. According to a circular sent to the 1,300 pharmacies and 12 drug manufacturing companies under the ministry's jurisdiction, they will be required to produce valid ID cards belonging to their business partners in the UAE.
Dr Amin al Amiri, head of medical practices at the ministry, said he would not accept a licence application from any hospital, clinic, pharmacy, manufacturer or consultancy firm without the card. "The decision is in line with the cabinet's decision to extend the deadline for applying for the ID card for nationals until the end of March," he said. This poses potential problems for any private medical facility with an Emirati partner who has not received their ID card by March 31. Professional expatriates have been given until Feb 28 to register for their cards.
Dr al Amiri said: "Any private facility who wants to receive a licence must present the national ID card of the business's UAE partner. I will not accept the application if they do not." Any Emirati who does not register for their ID card by March 31 will face a Dh1,000 (US$272) fine. The previous deadline of Dec 31 was extended because of the rush of applicants. On Tuesday, the Emirates Identity Authority (Eida) said it had registered 650,000 Emiratis, and estimated that 150,000 had yet to register.
According to Eida, any Emirati who does not register by the end of March could also lose access to services provided by government departments, including health care. Hospitals have said they would not turn away anyone needing emergency treatment. Yesterday the Ministry of Health also reminded doctors that they must have medical negligence insurance to obtain or renew licences. Dr al Amiri said 80 per cent of the insurance fee should be paid by the medical facilities where they work, and the remaining 20 per cent by the practitioner.
He said this was part of the medical negligence law prepared by the ministry last year. Humaid Mohammed Obaid al Qattami, Minister of Health, presented parts of the law to the Federal National Council this month. @Email:munderwood@thenational.ae
