Compliance Perspectives

By Adam Turteltaub Healthcare and healthcare compliance are often thought to be very country specific, due to the many variations of healthcare structures. To learn more about how healthcare compliance works in one country outside of the US we spoke with Emeka Obiora, Vice President, Ethics and Compliance at NMC Healthcare in Abu Dhabi. Emeka explains that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has something of a split system. Public sector hospitals primarily serve Emiratis, who are provided with healthcare by the government. Foreign workers in the UAE are required to carry insurance and typically see private providers. As a result, the risk profile is very different. It is there, though, with several key ones to manage. The first is licensing. The UAE relies upon medical professionals who come from all over the world and have vastly different training and backgrounds. All must be qualified and licensed locally, which represents a substantial undertaking. The second common risk area is conflicts of interest, wh