Dubai residents can now contact Dubai Health Authority (DHA) doctors via video and voice calls, for free 24/7 consultation and queries regarding Covid-19, the authorities has informed.
The DHA is providing this service through its “Doctor for Every Citizen” initiative, which was launched by the authority last December to fulfill the goals of Article 5 of the Fifty-Year Charter.
The initiative, which initially provided family medicine consultations for Emiratis, will now provide free consultation to all Dubai Residents for Covid-19.
The services will also help answer the queries of resident under self-quarantine from the comfort of their homes.
Dr Manal Taryam, CEO of the Primary Healthcare Sector at the DHA said that this will especially benefit residents on self-quarantine at home as they will be able to get any health-related queries they may have, answered without leaving the comfort of their homes.
She explained that passengers who return from ‘countries of concern’ have to undergo home isolation for 14 days to avoid spreading the virus. This is important as the incubation period of the virus is 14 days and they may be asymptomatic during this period.
While they are at home they should keep an eye on their health and are asked to not hesitate to contact the ‘Doctor for Every Citizen’ initiative if they develop a fever or any flu-like symptoms.
Dr Taryam said that the ‘Doctor for Every Citizen’ initiative will cover initial consultation and follow-ups were the physician uses a telehealth platform to communicate with the person while viewing his medical record.
The physician will also be able to request lab and radiology tests as well as issue electronic prescriptions.
Under the new service, the public will have 24/7 access to doctors, specialists and consultants who are DHA certified and trained on using tele-health.
“To access this service all they have to do is download the DHA mobile app and sign up. They then have to book an appointment for the ‘Doctor for every citizen’ service by calling the DHA toll-free number 800 342. Doctors and patients can opt for check-ups via video-call or voice-call.”