Dubai is in the forefront of a healthcare revolution that is transforming the way patients and providers traverse the healthcare journey. Spearheaded by DHA’s futuristic NABIDH integration platform, this revolution is all set to elevate the quality of healthcare delivery to unparalleled heights. What is NABIDH? It is a system that connects all healthcare facilities in Dubai through a platform facilitating the exchange of electronic health records. To ensure regulated health information exchange on NABIDH the DHA has established a set of policies that all healthcare providers must adhere to. One such policy is the NABIDH Audit Policy, which outlines audit requirements for healthcare facilities.

What is NABIDH’s Audit Policy?

NABIDH’s Audit policy encompasses a set of requirements and regulations formulated with the objective to guarantee seamless exchange of health information, by focusing on confidentiality, integrity and improving patient care through the following actions:
Implementing standards and guidelines to audit the performance and security features of the NABIDH platform.
Conducting compliance checks and establishing controls to eliminate any risks.
Continuously enhancing frameworks and compliance measures related to this matter.
Upgrading management and operational controls as needed.
Performing self-assessment audits, across processes.
Preventing access to patient health information transmitted through NABIDH.
Ensuring adherence to privacy requirements in a manner.
Maintaining records that chronologically document access activities in NABIDH EMR. These records must include:

Queries made by authorized users
Type of accessed information
Information flows
Disclosed information
Date and time stamps for these activities.

How Does the Audit Policy Strengthen NABIDH Integration?

The role of any audit is to assess an organization’s target framework or regulatory requirements. It assesses an entity’s status of compliance with internal and external rules and regulations, laws, bylaws, policies, procedures, and standards. It reviews the effectiveness of internal controls and helps identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the existing processes and facilitates improvement. Besides these, the Audit Policy outlined by NABIDH also:

Defines the Conditions for NABIDH Compliance

NABIDH standards include precise audit requirements that are outlined in the NABIDH audit policy. This guarantees that the duties and expectations for healthcare institutions with respect to NABIDH EMR are understood clearly.

Keeps Information Security Measures in Place

The audit policy is essential for confirming the use and efficacy of the NABIDH-recommended information security procedures. This guarantees the availability, confidentiality, and integrity of sensitive healthcare data.

Averts Infractions & Breach

NABIDH’s Audit policy serves as a proactive defense against possible infractions and security breaches through routine audits. The policy makes it possible to take prompt remedial action in order to stop unauthorized access or data breaches by detecting and fixing vulnerabilities and shortcomings.

Facilitates Creation of Controls & Risk Management

The policy proactively manages risk by enabling healthcare entities to identify and evaluate possible hazards to medical records, making it easier to create and establish strong controls that eliminate or mitigate hazards, guaranteeing a safe and reliable healthcare environment.

Enables Assessment & Enhancement of Controls

The audit policy’s requirement for regular reviews makes it possible to evaluate how well the current operational and management controls are working. Similarly, continuous improvement is made possible by this iterative process, which guarantees that controls continue to be effective in dealing with evolving threats and changing scenarios.

Helps Identify Non-Compliance & Suggest Corrective Actions

The audit policy acts as a tool to uncover instances where NABIDH requirements are not being met, and offers a methodical way to suggest and carry out corrective measures to ensure compliance with legal standards.

Promotes Responsible Use of NABIDH EMR

The audit policy improves accountability in healthcare facilities utilizing NABIDH EMR. It enables effective and secure maintenance of electronic medical records, promoting traceability, transparency, and compliance with all other NABIDH guidelines concerning the use and exchange of patient health information.

Fosters an Integrity-Based Culture

Beyond particular controls, the audit policy helps healthcare facilities to cultivate an integrity-based culture that highlights how crucial it is to follow moral guidelines, adhere to norms, and be dedicated to upholding the greatest standards of patient care and data integrity.

To sum it up, NABIDH’s Audit Policy is an essential tool that steers healthcare entities towards smooth and seamless IT integration with NABIDH standards. It is more than just a set of regulations. It plays the extended role as a dependable ally that guides healthcare organizations in Dubai to traverse the challenging realms of NABIDH compliance and promoting excellence in futuristic and patient-centric care.