Dubai Health Authority launches Arthritis registry.

Registry known as DAR( Dubai arthritis registry) will record the prevalence of  six major musculoskeletal diseases including Arthritis among patients at DHA hospitals.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 7, 2014: The Dubai Health Authority recently launched the Dubai Arthritis Registry(DAR).

HE Eng. Essa Al Maidoor, Director General of the DHA said during the launch ceremony that such registries are pertinent to understand the prevalence, pattern and treatment methods for diseases and are particularly important for research. He said the DAR registry  will record the prevalence of  six major musculoskeletal diseases including Arthritis among patients at DHA hospitals.

Dr Abdulrehman Al Jassmi, CEO of Dubai Hospital said: “Musculoskeletal Diseases are considered the second greatest cause of disability, globally. They make up 21.3 per cent of the accumulative number of years lived with disability.  Disabilities caused by MS diseases has increased by 45 per cent in the years between 1990 and 2010. Due to all these factors, we are determined and committed to shedding light on MS diseases and tabulating its prevalence and treatment methods to ensure further improved patient outcomes. The system we have implemented is highly advanced and offers several other features besides a simple registry.”

Dr Jamal Al Saleh, Head of Rheumatology at Dubai Hospital said, “ The system provides several benefits for health professionals. It helps in standardizing the healthcare system by providing informative and documented medical record of patients with such diseases. It allows doctors to monitor individual and group patient progression. It assess KPI's, reasons of treatment discontinuation, and quality improvement projects. The system will act as a research nucleus and has the option to filter search results based on inclusion of any criteria for any given research. Last but not least, it will enhance pharma-economic studies which helps in implementation of future recommendations, new medications, and new investigations.”

Al Saleh said that presently the registry is applicable for the government sector in Dubai but plans to expand it to other healthcare providers.
Al Saleh added: “The project is a result of our commitment towards our patients and is in line with the vision of the DHA to develop the health sector keeping in mind the welfare of all Dubai citizens.  Through this registry, our motto is “Keep them moving…keep Dubai growing.”

The six diseases that are part of the registry include Rheumatoid arthritis, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Soft Tissue Rheumatism, Vasculitis, Spondyloarthritis and Fibromyalgia.