Dubai Health Authority to spread Sheryan Blockchain platform across UAE in 2019

Dr. Marwan Al Mulla, CEO Health Regulation Sector, at Dubai Health Care Authority was one of the speakers at IBMTHINK event in Sanfrancisco. Dubai Health care Authority is the entity responsible for the licensing of healthcare professionals and facilities in Dubai. The entity deals with over 40,000 healthcare professionals, 3500 health facilities and carries out more than 4.2 million transactions yearly.

According to H.E. Humaid Al Qatami, Chairman and Director General, “DHA’s mission is to ensure access to health services, maintain and improve the quality of these services, improve the health status of nationals, residents and visitors, and; oversee a dynamic, efficient and innovative health sector.”

UNLOCK met and spoke with Dr. Marwan Al Mulla on “ Sheryan” , the lifeline of healthcare sector,  the service that went live on January 20^th 2019. Sheryan utilizes blockchain technology in addition to AI and IOT (internet of Things).  As Al Mulla explained, “Utilizing IBM Hyperledger Fabric blockchain platform we are now able to process the licensing of healthcare professionals online from their home, anywhere in the world with ease and transparency. Even more so those who are already licensed can transfer from one healthcare facility to another in one day instead of four weeks because documentation is now easily verified on the platform.”

In addition, once health professionals are on Sheryan they can utilize many benefits including an application similar to LinkedIn that allows them to connect and network with each other.

As Al Mulla adds, “by using Sheryan, 53% of licensing processes are now fully automated. Using AI you have auto approvals or renewals of licenses when all the inputted parameters provided earlier have not been altered.”

Al Mulla states, “Today Sheryan platform incorporates three major entities, Dubai Health Care City, Ministry of Health, and Dubai Healthcare Authority. We plan to expand the network to include all healthcare entities in the UAE in 2019. Later on, we will take this further and connect with international health authorities and UAE universities to grow the network further.”

One of the major benefits of the Sheryan solution is that it is secure, and transparent. Documents and information cannot be altered. Using IOT, inspectors at the Dubai Health care Authority can remotely inspect and detect hazardous conditions in pharmacies and healthcare facilities, such as air monitoring, room measurements and temperature, radiation monitoring and others.

The Sheryan platform has helped to improve and streamline processes as well as save time and reduced the need for paper based processes.  Dr. Al Mulla states, “This has not only been beneficial for us as health authority but also for our clients, the hospitals, professionals, and facilities that utilize this network. It has saved them time and efforts that were spent on processing and reviewing.”

Sheryan platform is being offered as a blockchain as a service platform. Al Mulla explains, “ As a privately shared network we are enabling all entities to cooperate and work together securely. We will also be cooperating with Smart Dubai in the future as we connect with other entities internationally and within the UAE.”

The Dubai government has estimated that Blockchain will save the emirate around Dh5.5 billion annually in document processing alone. The utilization of Blockchain, AI and IOT in the healthcare sector further emphasizes the role Dubai and UAE is playing towards its digitization and 2021 vision.