The Dubai Health Authority’s (DHA) Medical Fitness Services Department revealed that more than 760,000 medical fitness test and occupational screenings were conducted from the beginning of the year, until today.

Maisa Al Bustani, Director of the Medical Fitness Services Department said that out of the 764,113 tests, 664,329 were medical fitness tests while 99,784 were occupational screening tests.

Medical fitness tests are a mandatory requirement for all expats in the UAE.

Medical Fitness screening is a prerequisite for a residency, employment or education visa. The type of tests required is based on the customer’s category as per UAE Federal Law.

Occupational Health Screening includes blood tests and physical or fitness assessments related to the employee's occupation as per international guidelines. Occupational tests are based on client’s profession. There are currently 20 job professions serving and 300 categories in Dubai.

“There are currently 18 active centres spread across Dubai, 13 are Medical Fitness Centres and five are Occupational Screening Centres. The DHA makes sure that all these centers are geographically distributed across Dubai to ensure that residents are able to go to a center that is in proximity to their homes,” said Al Bustani.

She added that medical fitness and occupational centers across Dubai have several medical fitness options available such as regular, VIP, 24 hour and 48 hour medical fitness service, which ensures the results are provided within the selected time-frame.

‘Salem’ medical fitness and occupational screening system

Al Bustani also highlighted the ‘Salem’ medical fitness and occupational screening system, which is integrated to all medical fitness centers in Dubai. The system reduces customer’s waiting time, minimizes human intervention and makes blood test and x-ray results available electronically.

The system is integrated with the GDRFA-D, so once the applicant completes all the screening procedures, the applicant will receive a SMS notification alert and we will send the results electronically via an email.

Tawajod service

The DHA also offers the Tawajod service, which is a fast-track service that is highly beneficial for corporate employees. DHA employees visit the office or home of the individual who requested this service and conducts the medical fitness tests required on spot. For every request, a maximum of 70 employees are tested. This saves the time of the business community as their employees can get the test done in their offices.

A request for this service can be made via the DHA’s website www.dha.gov.ae