Californian virtual healthcare technology company VeeMed is helping Dubai-based Seed Group bring telehealth to the UAE following a rise of patients seeking remote services for medical consultations, prescriptions, detection of virus symptoms and treatment of mental health problems.
 
As the world enters an era of digital transformation in healthcare caused by Covid-19, medical practitioners and government executives are expected to leverage digital telehealth. In this case, VeeMed will focus on virtual clinical patient care services and telemedicine technology in chronic care, nephrology, pulmonary medicine, neurology and mental health, while Seed Group will play a role in introducing these tools, beginning with the Dubai Healthcare Authority (DHA) and later on with private healthcare entities.
 
“I believe that businesses – working with the healthcare sector, communities, government and non-profits – can and must rise to meet the world’s current biggest healthcare challenge, Covid-19,” said Ijaz Arif, president and co-founder of VeeMed. “In this regard, VeeMed is going to play a major role in the Middle East and North Africa [Mena]. This partnership will ensure smooth delivery of VeeMed products to provide the best-in-class healthcare to the millions of people in the region.”
 
Pressure on the universal health care structure has increased dramatically this year, but the UAE has been fighting the spread of the disease, as evidenced by a large number of recoveries over the past two months. In addition to the existing healthcare protocols laid down by the government of Dubai as it opened up the city to all business and tourism visitors earlier this month, managing the access of health providers to see and treat patients without physical interaction was important.
 
“I believe that this partnership is going to play a critical role in shaping the healthcare sector in the region,” said Arshad Ali, CEO and co-founder of VeeMed. “VeeMed’s technology and services have the potential to disrupt the healthcare delivery to resolve many issues that the current ecosystem cannot potentially address. Telemedicine has become mainstream in the USA and Europe, and now is the time to implement the same model in the Mena region to transform healthcare delivery.”
 
The DHA in 2017 made an administrative decision to regulate the practice of telehealth services in Dubai and, in 2019, announced the Telehealth Services Standards resulting from Dubai’s Fifty-Year Charter to improve the quality and safety of healthcare services. This highlights the quality of medical facilities, emergency delivery system and accessibility for round-the-clock medical consultations with doctors, specialists and consultants from around the world via online, which allows long-distance patients to be contacted and cared for.
 
“In a very small amount of time, what was once a strong interest becomes a must for all,” said Hisham Al Gurg, CEO of Seed Group. “We are therefore very excited to announce this partnership as a means of securing the foundations of a completely remote system between healthcare institutions, medical professionals and patients. Our review of VeeMed’s systems shows very promising results in bridging these small gaps in telehealth and making the UAE a global leader in health innovation.”
 
VeeMed goes as far as Wuhan, China, to provide specialised care. Both of its founders were recognised for innovation by then-president Barack Obama in 2017. Based in Roseville, California, VeeMed focuses on virtual technology, physician services and operations. Founded in 2016, it has telemedicine available for acute care settings.
 
Over the past 16 years, Seed Group has formed strategic alliances with companies representing diverse regions and industries. These companies have propelled their business interests and goals in the Mena region through the support and base of regional connections of the Seed Group. The group’s goal is to create mutually beneficial partnerships with multinational organisations and to accelerate their sustainable market entry and presence within the region.