Online doctor or clinic visit: how to decide in the UAE

When a video consultation is a reasonable start

A video consultation is meant for problems like coughs, colds, flu, sore throats, mild fevers, and skin or stomach upsets. A GP can assess you, give advice and prescribe if you need medicine.

In Dubai, the DHA telehealth standard gives some common reasons a doctor may prescribe by telehealth. They include respiratory infections, allergic conditions, cough and congestion, urinary tract infections and skin infections. Prescribing is still the doctor's decision, and it depends on what they find when they assess you.

Video works better when you are prepared. Have your medicines, any recent reports and your questions to hand, and sit somewhere private with good light so the doctor can see you clearly. The same standard treats a good photograph or video view of the skin as essential when a doctor is prescribing for a skin problem.

When to go in person

The DHA standard describes a physical examination as an assessment using medical tools, face to face. A video call cannot replace that. Book an in-person visit in situations like these:

• The doctor needs to examine you or run a test. For example, the DHA standard lists a chest X-ray as mandatory when pneumonia is the concern.
• You have a minor injury. Sprains, minor cuts and burns, minor broken bones and minor eye injuries are usually seen at an urgent care clinic.
• Your problem is complex. The DHA standard says complex patients shall be referred for a face-to-face consultation.
• You may need a restricted medicine. Narcotic, controlled and semi-controlled medicines cannot be prescribed through telehealth.
• You would simply prefer it. Doctors providing telehealth in Dubai must respect a patient's request for a face-to-face referral.

It is also worth knowing that, in Dubai, sick leave issued through telehealth is limited to a maximum of three days a week under the DHA standard.

When to call 998

Do not book a video call for an emergency. The DHA standard excludes emergency cases from telehealth. Call 998 for an ambulance from anywhere in the UAE, or go to the nearest hospital. These are examples of when to call straight away:

• Choking, or someone has stopped breathing
• Severe chest pain or pressure, or severe shortness of breath
• Sudden trouble speaking, seeing, walking or moving, or sudden weakness on one side of the body
• A head injury with fainting or confusion
• A seizure that lasts more than a minute, or with no quick recovery
• Severe burns, heavy bleeding or deep wounds
• A severe allergic reaction with trouble breathing or swelling
• Coughing or vomiting blood

Insurance should not hold you up. The DHA standard says advice to seek emergency care shall not be delayed, whatever the patient's insurance plan. The UAE government portal says a hospital will accept you for initial treatment in a medical emergency, and may then transfer you to a better equipped hospital if needed.

If you start online and need to switch

Starting with video does not lock you in. A doctor providing telehealth in Dubai should tell you when a referral for face-to-face care is needed, and should not go beyond what they can safely manage remotely.

On medicAI, you can see a licensed doctor by video or browse doctors by specialty. medicAI is a technology platform. Doctors work at independent facilities licensed by DHA in Dubai or DoH in Abu Dhabi, and those facilities and their professionals are responsible for your care.