- More than 6.6 million lab tests were conducted by the Dubai Health Authority's (DHA) Pathology and Genetics Department in 2019. Out of the 6,696,885 tests conducted last year, 2,666,805 were visa screening tests, 61,736 were pre-martial tests and 9,499 were genetics tests. The remaining tests were of microbiology, haematology & transfusion services, biochemistry, immunology, histology and cytology. Dr Hussain Al Samt, Director of DHA's Pathology & Genetics Department stressed the importance of laboratory testing as it has an integral role in ensuring accurate diagnosis and treatment of patients. "More than 70% of medical decisions depend on the results of laboratory tests; therefore, it is important for laboratories to provide timely, accurate and fast laboratory testing with high quality to support the medical decision of our advanced healthcare system, which in turn reflects on patient's treatment outcome. Accurate laboratory testing will ensure accurate diagnosis for patients and put patients on the right track of treatment," said Dr Al Samt who pointed out that the strategy and the operational plans of the department are in full alignment with DHA's strategy & Dubai plan 2021, which aims to make Dubai a global leader in the delivery of world-class diagnostic testing in laboratory medicine. The DHA's Pathology and Genetics Department provides 24/7 high-quality laboratory diagnostic testing in the fields of hematology & transfusion services, coagulation, biochemistry, microbiology, virology, immunology, histopathology, cytology, cytogenetics and genetics, as well as providing tests for visa screening, testing for occupational health and pre-marital screening services. The department also provides high complexity testing such as infectious disease testing, flow cytometry, molecular genetics testing for hemoglobinopathies, pre-natal diagnosis for thalassemia, cytogenetics, genetics tests for post-natal diagnosis, cancer genetics diagnosis, chromosomal microarray, in-born errors of metabolism, genomics testing like whole exome sequencing and targeted sequencing for cancer diagnosis and comprehensive TB laboratory. In addition, comprehensive molecular virology testing such as COVID-19 Testing. To ensure the provision of quality services, Dr Samt said the Pathology and Genetics Department has a quality assurance unit that supervises the quality of testing of the 37 laboratories in hospitals, Primary Health Care Centres, Medical Fitness Centres and the Dubai Genetics Centre. "We also conduct regular inspections on these labs to ensure compliance with international standards and best practices, enrolment with proficiency testing programmes and the undergoing inspection by the college of American Pathologist (CAP)," said Dr Samt. He added that all laboratories at the DHA are equipped with the latest state-of-art diagnostic methodologies, which are run by highly skilled and experienced medical and technical staff. DHA laboratories are accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) to ensure compliance with international standards and best practices. Dr Al Samt added that the Pathology and Genetics Department ensures unified and standardized operation, policies and service provision across all DHA hospitals and centres through governance. "All DHA laboratories are electronically connected to a robust Laboratory Information System (LIS), which ensure: real-time specimen tracking, eliminate human errors, provides results quickly and ensures patient history archiving." Ensuring the provision of quality services resulted in the department getting awarded with the title "largest governmental laboratory network" outside the United States of America to obtain the international accreditation from the College of Pathology (CAP), in addition to receiving the accreditation of the first visa screening and occupational health laboratories in the region. It is also worth noting that the department has scored impressive inspection results, as the American College of Pathology (CAP) recognized the success rate of 99.1 percent. In 2019, the department has won the "Distinguished Department" title in "You Are Our Pride-2019". The award was presented by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and President of the DHA. The Pathology and Genetics Department was also awarded for its excellence and outstanding accomplishments in healthcare, receiving the 'Best Medical Laboratory Award' in the Annual Health Awards, in 2019; which is the biggest and one of the most prestigious healthcare awards in the region. FACTBOX- Accreditations received by the department - College of American Pathologist (CAP) Accreditation - AABB accreditation for Dubai Blood Donation Centre - Participated with the organizational accreditation programs: Integrated Management system (IMS) and Joint Commission International (JCI).
Source DHA