As a platfom, DrFive speaks with over 20,000 visitors on a monthly basis through a dedicated chat function. Among the numerous topics brought to the forefront of the chats, DrFive found specific gripes directed at the overall healthcare managment in Dubai. Here are their complaints in no particular order:

Patients are waiting too long over the phone to secure appointments.

For some medical centers, patients run through a series of telephonic options only to be placed on hold for another long duration of time. Many patients complained that they lose their patience and simply hang up. 

Patients calls are not even answered.

For some medical centers that rely on a receptionist without an automated answering system can sometimes miss out on inquiring patients. Patients believe it all depends on their luck at a certain time of the day if and when their calls are attended to. This seems to be a more common occurence with certain public hospitals and clinics.

Patients can't find their doctors easily and forced to change doctors.

Doctors in Dubai relocate frequently and administrators don’t feel the need to inform existing patients about the sudden absence of a particular doctor. Administrators will either refuse to disclose the doctor’s new practicing location or simply not know. Patients also complain that they are forced to regularly change doctors because they move around frequently in Dubai and depending on insurance plans,  have to adjust accordingly.

Patients wait too long to see their doctor even when they arrive on time.

According to DrFive's visitors, patients sometimes wait 35-45 minutes past their scheduled appointment times despite arriving to their appointments on time. This forces patients to adjust their schedules for the remainder of their day at an inconvenience to their own schedules. 

Patients are waiting too long to collect their prescription from the hospital pharmacy. 

So after waiting way past their scheduled appointment times, patients will usually proceed to the hospital pharmacy for their prescriptions. Once again, patients have shared their dissatisfaction with the prescription collection process saying that it can also take up to 45 minutes.  

According to Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Dubai's physician-to-resident ratio of 2.9 is currently higher than the UK and US. Also, with the number of doctors in Dubai growing at a rate of 82.4 % for the past 7 years, new market entrants are looking to acquire unhappy patients while putting more pressure on existing medical practioners to work better. Healthcare providers failing to address patient gripes about their medical experiences will ultimately marginalize their business and profitability.