Medical experts have expressed support for the UAE's Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme.

The programme is a government mandate aimed to further professionalise the ranks of practitioners in the healthcare industry and provide patients with better and safer healthcare standards.

"Mandatory continuing education for all health care professionals should no longer be debated," said Dr Raymond Hamden, director, Human Relations Institute, Dubai Knowledge Village.

Hamden said health education authorities, citing public interest, have realised that medical professionals have to keep themselves abreast of the latest methods in disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment, in order to serve their patients well and minimise malpractices.

Doctors, pharmacists and nurses are now required to meet a target number of CME hours each year before renewing their licences.

According to the government mandate, physicians under the jurisdiction of Health Authority – Abu Dhabi will have to complete 50 hours of CME per year. Dubai's Department of Health and Medical Services (DoHMS), on the other hand, obliges doctors to complete an annual CME of 50 hours, 20 hours of which must be in their respective specialised field.

Numerous healthcare education initiatives and events are being organised to facilitate the need for doctors to earn CME hours, which are issued by the American Academy of Continuing Medical Education (AACME).

IIR Middle East, with a portfolio of some of the world’s leading healthcare events including Arab Health Exhibition and Congress, is amongst the top providers of internationally accredited CME hours to the medial professionals in the region.

Its Abu Dhabi Medical Congress, scheduled from September 2 - 4 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, is yet another initiative to provide medical practitioners with additional opportunities to learn about the latest in healthcare industry and earn up to 20 CME hours to continue excelling in their fields of practice.

As part of the Arab Health Congress’ endeavor to remain at the forefront of continuing medical education in the region, this Congress offers local medical professionals an ideal opportunity to acquire the requisite credits without the expense or time lost for traveling abroad, a spokesman said.

Delegates who attend the three-day event will receive an internationally accredited AACME certificate, which can be used towards maintaining the annual quota of CME credits.

Dr Mara van de Putte, a general physician at Health Call located at Dubai Healthcare City, said obtaining a certain amount of CME accreditation is an "obligation" of doctors in order to further their medical knowledge and raise the standard of healthcare in the UAE. "CME is a very important way to maintain and improve medical and scientific knowledge, and I am happy to see that it is becoming mandatory for all doctors in the UAE," de Putte said.

Simon Page, Director of Healthcare Division at IIR Middle East, said that it is their aim to provide medical professionals the highest quality of continuing medical education in the Middle East to match standards anywhere in the world.

He said more than 100 exhibitors and 700 delegates from across the region will gather for the Abu Dhabi Medical Congress, one of the few healthcare events in the UAE accredited by AACME, an international accreditation body recognized in 96 countries. –TradeArabia News Service