Abu Dhabi healthcare shifts towards AI-powered preventive and personalised care

Abu Dhabi: Health officials and experts say the sector is undergoing a rapid transformation towards a proactive model that uses artificial intelligence, data analysis and wearable technologies to monitor health risks, predict diseases and enable early intervention before symptoms appear. The shift is ultimately aimed at providing personalised medical care based on each individual’s health and genetic characteristics, helping improve treatment outcomes and the patient experience. They said the future of healthcare lies in integrating technology with medical expertise and connecting health data within a single system to improve diagnosis and prevention, reduce pressure on hospitals and enhance quality of life. Abu Dhabi has advanced capabilities to develop this model through digital health initiatives, the Emirati Genome Programme and the “My File” platform. Dr Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi, said smart wearable technologies provide continuous insights into individuals’ health and create opportunities to identify risks at an early stage. Dr Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi She highlighted the importance of linking data from these devices with the health system to support early intervention and improve quality of life. Dr Al Ghaithi said the “Our Health” application integrates data from wearable devices with health records through the “My File” platform to calculate a personal healthy-age index. This helps individuals understand the clinical and lifestyle factors affecting their health. She said digital health initiatives, electronic prescriptions and the Emirati Genome Programme also support the shift towards prevention and personalised care. Dr Asma Ibrahim Al-Mannai, Executive Director of the Health and Life Sciences Sector at the Abu Dhabi Department of Health, said Abu Dhabi had taken advanced steps in using artificial intelligence in healthcare, including training thousands of doctors to use AI applications in hospitals and health facilities. Dr Asma Ibrahim Al-Mannai The emirate has also adopted standards governing the use of these technologies, helping improve diagnostic accuracy and accelerate the delivery of healthcare while preserving the doctor’s role as the trusted medical authority for patients. “We have trained thousands of doctors on the use of artificial intelligence applications, and we have adopted standards for employing these technologies in hospitals, which enhances the accuracy of diagnosis and the speed of providing care.” Dr Al-Mannai said these efforts were part of Abu Dhabi’s move towards a proactive healthcare system that shifts from responding to diseases after they occur to predicting and preventing health risks. Advances in genomics and artificial intelligence can help identify risks earlier and enable more precise medical interventions. She said healthcare systems need to monitor early warning indicators, analyse patterns and intervene promptly through an integrated system encompassing genomics, population health monitoring, real-time data platforms and AI-powered analytics. AI tools can support clinical decisions, improve triage, treatment and referrals, and contribute to earlier risk detection and response. Data can also be used to guide policy, allocate resources more efficiently and ease pressure on hospitals. Imran Al-Khoury, Board Member of Burjeel Holding, said: “Artificial intelligence has become an important tool in developing medical practice, through its ability to analyze images and medical examinations and detect pathological indicators, in addition to supporting surgical planning and evaluating medical procedures. It also helps doctors make more accurate clinical decisions based on data analysis and scientific evidence. At Burjeel, we are moving towards integrating these technologies into the various stages of the patient journey, which enhances the efficiency of medical services and patient safety, while emphasizing that artificial intelligence supports the doctor’s expertise and does not replace it.” Imran Al-Khoury He said: “Artificial intelligence opens up broad horizons for developing the diagnosis of rare diseases by analyzing genetic data, medical records and vital signs, which helps in discovering disease patterns that may be difficult to identify by traditional means. It also contributes to developing predictive models to identify people who are most susceptible to some diseases, and enables early intervention and the development of more accurate treatment plans. At Burjeel, we focus on developing services for genetic and rare diseases and precision medicine, which supports the transition from treating diseases after they appear to more proactive healthcare based on the genetic and biological characteristics of each patient.” Al-Khoury added: “Artificial intelligence will play an increasingly important role in improving the prevention of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension, by analyz