Right from monitoring infections to keeping track of a patient's progress and further development of remote care, having access to regularly updated patient information has been crucial for doctors in the UAE. In a connected world where data has emerged as a valuable asset for most sectors including e-commerce, medical records as instrumental for taking calls on individual cases, and for conducting research that shapes policies.

Healthcare authorities in the UAE are heavily relying on data collection to shield their population from healthcare emergencies, like the pandemic. After success of the Al Hosn app as a healthcare app and vaccine registry despite the recent outage, the Emirati health ministry has launched another platform to act as a single reservoir of medical data in the country.

The unified portal called Manara follows the digitisation of healthcare records in the country, and will include data from dashboards across specialties. Having one go to online destination for finding any kind of information within seconds, can help medical practitioners and healthcare authorities, in making data-driven decisions.

But beyond relaying records, the plethora of knowhow to be analysed via smart tech tools, can lead to accurate predictions about health risks and insights for effective diagnosis. The platform designed to save time and ramp up efficiency of the entire public health infrastructure, will also contain data from the unified electronic medical record called Wareed.

The ministry's very own predictive platform in collaboration with Emirates Health Services, is another crucial step forward in warding off future outbreaks. A wastewater lab being set up in Abu Dhabi is also expected to boost healthcare policymaking by detecting viruses in the drainage network.

Currently platforms active in the Emirates allow local doctors to exchange patient information with peers abroad, to deliver personalised care. Digital medical records have also become a key that allows Emiratis to travel abroad, by verifying their PCR test results virtually.