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Dubai Healthcare Authority and ICDL GCC Foundation launch new campaign for IT awareness in healthcare sector
Published Aug 29, 2010
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ICDL GCC Foundation, the governing body and certification authority of the International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) program in the Gulf region and Iraq, is launching a new awareness campaign with Dubai Health Authority (DHA) to highlight the importance and impact of IT skills in the healthcare sector.
ICDL GCC Foundation pointed out that investments in IT by healthcare institutions have increased significantly in line with the sustained growth of the GCC's healthcare industry, which according to a study by the World Bank has been projected to reach a value of USD 60 billion by 2025.
According to several independent studies, in 5 years time employers expect less than 10% of jobs to be available to individuals without ICT skills, regardless of role or industry. Campaigns like this build on the continuing partnership between ICDL GCC Foundation and DHA, which was initiated in 2008 to efficiently integrate IT elements into DHA's programs and expand the technology proficiency of its staff in different areas. The joint effort between them involves the promotion of digital skills through the hanging of posters within DHA facilities that include messages about the significance of digital awareness on the job and in personal life.
The Healthcare Sector depends on a wide range of applications and advances in technology which help ensure that healthcare services are of high quality, safe and are more responsive to the patients’ needs. In addition, potential benefits include increased quality and efficiency of care, reduced operating costs of clinical services, reduced administrative costs, and introduction of entirely new modes of care.
Dr. Khalil Kaed, Director of Medical Education Department, DHA, said: " The Dubai Health Authority has worked throughout the years to continuously and efficiently develop its medical and administrative staff to guarantee the quality and standards of the management processes of health care services available through hospitals and affiliated health centres, and as a natural result of the technological advancements we are experiencing everyday in the Healthcare Sector, the ICDL program comes along to play a major role in spreading IT awareness and raising the efficiency of all workers within the Authority to use the computer and its applications in accordance with international standards that have proven success ".
"The launch of the internal IT awareness campaign in collaboration with ICDL GCC Foundation is to urge the DHA staff, who were unable to establish or develop their skills in information technology to do so, which will consequently serve the DHA plan to increase efficiency and improve services provided to live up to the global standards that we are seeking" he added.
Jamil Ezzo, Director General of ICDL GCC Foundation, said: “We pride ourselves on the partnership with DHA and its efforts as the second governmental service department in the Emirate of Dubai in terms of number of staff, to develop computer skills and elements of information technology in the health care sector. The belief in the importance of efficient data exchange between health care units, progress in the technical devices used in the same area, and the flow of medical diagnoses information available online and accessible to patients, present a clear case as to why healthcare workers must be technologically savvy and aware".
The awareness initiative is in line with the directions of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Dr. Hanif Hassan, UAE Minister of Health, to qualify and train administrative and medical personnel on basic information and communications technology skills, to improve and develop healthcare quality using efficient IT systems and practices, and to computerise medical information and consequently advance patient monitoring and treatment.
Many countries around the world have launched initiatives to enhance digital literacy in their health sector. The United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS), the third largest employer in the world after the Chinese Army and the Indian Railways, adopted ICDL as the reference standard for basic digital skills in 2001. NHS found it imperative that digital literacy of its staff was central to the success of its digitization efforts and for them to adapt quickly to new IT and information systems and get quicker, easier access to the information they need to support patient care. Over the past 6 years, around 600,000 out of the 1.3 million NHS employees have enrolled in the ICDL Program.
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