Power Letters 2023: Alisha Moopen, deputy managing director, Aster DM Healthcare

Healthcare has never been more important to the global economy than during the past two years, and it will be central to the economic recovery in days to come.

In the year 2022, a core priority for healthcare systems was to tackle a backlog of non-Covid care as the global healthcare sector met new challenges.

The UAE too, rose to this challenge. Healthcare in the country has grown phenomenally and by 2023, spending in this sector is forecast to rise to $18.3bn. A 10-year forecast predicts that health expenditure will rise to $26bn, while overall spending is expected to account for 3.6 per cent of the country’s GDP by 2028.

During peak pandemic times, the country’s prompt response and its vaccination programme put its healthcare sector in the global spotlight. Implementation of precautionary measures, smart technologies and the successful re-opening of the country’s borders were key developments that accelerated a rebound in medical tourism.

Last year, healthcare executives continued to be concerned about key issues, including shifting consumer preferences, evolving digital health technologies, care delivery models and clinical innovation. The pandemic upset traditional health systems and in turn, healthcare entities scrambled to fi nd ways to adapt and maintain operational efficiency by introducing new solutions.

At Aster DM Healthcare, we continued to elevate the human experience of our workforce and reshape what, how and where work is performed by scaling virtual health services for patients and forging partnerships. We also continued to address the heightened importance of inequities of healthcare, sustainability and the environment through our ESG efforts.

Last year, we undertook a number of initiatives such as the introduction of myAster app, which combines artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning capabilities to bring an integrated omnichannel experience of our services to patients. The complete version of the app is expected to go live in 2023.

We also diversified to cover a full spectrum of healthcare services not just limited to hospital and clinics but for personalised home care services.

Aster was among the first private healthcare players in the UAE to introduce teleconsultation facilities at the beginning of the pandemic and over the years, the service has received phenomenal uptake. The company recently launched ‘Wellth’, a hub of integrative medicine in the country, to encourage people to lead healthier lives and alleviate chronic lifestyle diseases.

Aster DM Healthcare is contributing to enhancing the economy in a variety of ways by leveraging opportunities provided by the UAE government. By incorporating AI, digital technology and automation, we are ensuring that healthcare services are more sophisticated and accessible in line with new consumer trends in healthcare.

We have a number of expansion projects lined up for 2023. In the GCC, we plan to increase bed capacity, open clinics and pharmacies in newer high-growth areas, invest in widening our business offerings, increase focus on medical value tourism, grow our cash-related business, and fully rollout the myAster app.

We focus on the UAE operations becoming an omnichannel experience for our customers in this phygital era, and in parallel, have plans to open Aster pharmacies in Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh.