UAE’s first workspace for part-time, visiting doctors launched in Dubai

Dubai - There are 20 ‘clinics’ within the space that can each accommodate up to five doctors.

Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) on Monday announced the launch of C37, a private medical workspace zone designed for visiting overseas doctors or UAE-based physicians seeking an independent, part-time practice.

Launched at Arab Health 2021, the innovative workspace is the first of its kind in the GCC and reinforces the DHCC’s mission to bring together core sector services to enhance healthcare delivery in the UAE.

C37 will provide visiting doctors with a gateway to the regional population, while giving UAE-based doctors greater mobility and connectivity with their patients and peers. It will also give patients in the UAE direct access to an even larger pool of leading regional and global specialists.

Speaking to Khaleej Times at the Arab Health 2021 exhibition on Monday, Dr Mohamed Elbaz, centre manager at C37, said: “We studied the market in Dubai and found that there are a couple of challenges for doctors who are working overseas. They wanted to be more invested and have a space for themselves in Dubai. With C37, we wanted to give them a private medical workspace where they can practise with all the operational and medical solutions that they need to be comfortable, irrespective of their specialisation. Starting today, we have opened the doors for doctors that are looking for a flexible workplace with flexible timings.”

Access to C37 is via membership. Physicians who sign up will benefit from front-desk booking services, as well as operational support and onsite management guidance with comprehensive resources, including strategic consulting, accounting, banking, legal, and marketing services.

Members will be able to secure their workspace on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, giving doctors flexibility to align with patient needs and drastically reduce overheads by accessing flexible medical staffing and equipment solutions. They pay only for the staff they need and can scale staff up or down in line with patient demand.

Dr Mohamed Elbaz described the clinic as having shared workplaces where doctors can choose when they want to work. “There are many doctors who are already working part time in different organisations and dream of having their own workspace, and we want to make it easier for them to do so. C37 tackles several issues for doctors in this position, such as high operating costs and improving efficiency.”

Elaborating on the workspace, he said that there are 20 ‘clinics’ within the space that can each accommodate up to five doctors.

“We are talking about a hundred doctors that can be there per day. A key issue that we wanted to tackle with C37 is doctors being more efficient when it comes to seeing patients. A lot of doctors will be seeing patients that are travelling for treatment so a space like C37 is perfect for them. Right now, this is Phase 1, and we have several more phases planned where we will expand the concept based on what feedback we will be getting.”

Jamal Abdulsalam, CEO of Dubai Healthcare City Authority, said C37 provides a 360-degree approach to clinical operation so doctors can focus on their core services and provide optimum quality care. The initiative also serves as a platform for knowledge and expertise exchange with medical peers and future doctors coming together to form a like-minded, next-generation community that can thrive through networking and referral opportunities.

“C37 contributes to empowering UAE competencies in various medical fields, as it shapes a platform to exchange knowledge and sharing of experiences, which highlights the role of DHCC in achieving the goals of the national agenda. C37 also seeks to achieve the sustainability of medical tourism by attracting the finest doctors from around the world to provide health care services to individuals from the country and the region from Dubai,” he said.

rohma@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai