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New health cards, renewal on-line

DUBAI - The Dubai Department of Health and Medical Services (Dohms) is the first government department to fully integrate its systems with Dubai e-Government's advanced Content Management System (CMS) and is on track to provide services on-line through a new user-friendly interface.

Qadi Saeed Al Mroushid, Director General of the Dohms, yesterday launched the department's revamped web site, which he said residents can use to both obtain a new health card and renew an expired one. He said corporate clients can also renew their staff's health cards on-line, adding that companies can also apply for medical permits for new establishments or renew expired permits on-line.

The web site can be accessed on www.dohms.gov.ae, or through the Dubai e-Government's portal at www.dubai.ae. Residents can apply for medical fitness certificates on-line and seek information on new services. In addition, patients can access the Ask the Doctor service to inquire about any medical condition or health issue. For diabetic children there is the Sweet Kids section, a forum for kids suffering from this disease.

"This is a great day for Dohms as we launch an integrated portal to bridge the gap between the department and the community. Today, we have achieved a milestone that will see a dramatic transformation in the way people use our on-line services," Mr Mroushid told reporters at the launch ceremony for the revamped portal. The launch of the web site was attended by Salem Al Shair, Director of E-Services at the Dubai E-Government, and Sina Khoory, IT Director at Dohms.

In response to a question put to him by Khaleej Times on the security of on-line payments, Mr Khoory said that using credit cards to pay on-line for Dohms e-services is safe since the e-Government portal uses a secure platform. "Till now we have not had any reported incidents of any fraud. We do not store credit card numbers or expiry dates on our system so they cannot be compromised. We utilise the secure services of Comtrust to conduct payment transactions," Mr. Khoory said.

He said that corporate clients have the option of choosing between four methods of payment for e-services, they can either pay by a cheque, use the eDirham, use credit cards or, for big companies, they can open an account with the portal and charge any transaction to that account.

"The revamped portal is easy to navigate and highly interactive. Leading edge technology used in development ensures that users get to the page they need with the fewest clicks of the mouse. "The web site is available in Arabic and English and is highly dynamic. We anticipate a good response to several new features on the portal like the Customer Care section and the Ask the Doctor section, which allows people to submit questions on health topics," Mr Khoory said. Mr Al Shair said the Dohms site is extremely rich with over 1,000 elements on the web site. He said the Dohms has made good use of e-Government services, specifically by garnering know-how and expertise from 'Bait Al Khibra' (house of expertise), which was set up as part of the e-Government project to offer professional services. Abdul Rehman Belselah. Director of Dohms Licensing and Specification, also attended the Press conference.

• UAE