Abu Dhabi’s Department of Health (DoH) has launched a new strategy to safeguard patient healthcare information and mitigate the risk of cyber threats and attacks, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Saturday.
The new DoH strategy is a first in the region’s healthcare sector and is part of the United Arab Emirates government’s effort to enhance information security and strengthen its infrastructure.
It ensures a cohesive and proactive response framework is in place to deal with cybersecurity challenges that may arise in Abu Dhabi’s healthcare sector, including but not limited to: healthcare professionals, service providers and vendors who have access to patient healthcare data.
The strategy, which is expected to come into effect immediately, is comprised of six key areas pertaining to cybersecurity: governance, resilience, capabilities, partnerships, maturity and innovation.
The Department’s under-secretary. Dr. Jamal Mohammed al-Kaabi told WAM that the new strategy would implement “a host of processes and proactive measures that help mitigate associated risks and ensures full readiness to effectively and safely respond to any digital threats of attacks.”
“We intend to work alongside our partners for the roll-out of the updated strategy and take secure steps to support and contribute to the enhancement of the healthcare sectors’ digital transformation journey and the utilization of modern technology with the aim of continuing to provide high healthcare service quality to all members of the community,” he added.