The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has announced that it has adopted the Pharmaceutical Track and Trace System, which aims to monitor medication from when they are at manufacturing companies (in the UAE or abroad) until they reach the patient.The DHA is the first organization to adopt this system in the UAE, which complements the barcoding system adopted by the authority in 2017.

The authority has announced that it will start implementing the new system to track and trace medication mid next year adding that it has started discussions a few days ago with big manufacturing and supplying pharmaceutical companies to implement the system, which aims to achieve the highest standards of safety and quality.

The DHA stressed that the Track and Trace System helps combat potential counterfeit medication and ensures accuracy and credibility with regards to insurance claims for dispensing medications. The system also contributes to improving the management of medication inventory in Dubai and helps avoid any medication shortage.

His Excellency Humaid Al Qutami, Director General of the DHA that the authority prioritizes pharmaceutical services and so spares no effort in developing pharmaceutical services by adopting the latest technologies and smart systems to ensure the safety and supply of medication as this directly affects the treatment journey of patients and their wellbeing.

Al Qutami highlighted some of the latest smart technologies and systems adopted for pharmaceutical services including the barcode smart system. The DHA was the first in the UAE to adopt the system in 2017, which aims to ensure the safety of patients by giving each medicine a barcode, hence reducing the chances of any mistakes when dispensing medication.

The authority has adopted a smart system that monitors the cold chain of pharmaceuticals to preserve the quality and safety of medication.

The DHA has also launched a number smart pharmacies across its facilities for dispensing and prescribing medication.

Dr Ali Al Sayed, the Director of the Pharmaceutical Services Department at the DHA said the DHA constantly works on developing its pharmaceutical services to provide quality services for patients and to achieve customer satisfaction.