Psychiatrists say the quality of treatment available to patients with mental illness is suffering because of a lack of insurance cover.
Most local insurance companies do not include psychiatry in their health plans for expatriates, which means patients are not even covered for medical tests that are an important precursor to psychiatric treatment.
For some patients, the problem is severe enough that they feign symptoms of an emergency in order to qualify for free treatment.
Dr Yousef Abouallaban, the medical director at the American Center for Psychiatry and Neurology in Abu Dhabi, described the insurance shortfall as "absolutely unethical" and detrimental to the profession.
Dr Abouallaban said the insurance gap was causing psychiatrists to "suffer enormously to be able to practise really good medicine".
He noted that standard practice in psychiatry was to do a full physical examination of the patient, including blood tests, to rule out any medical issues that might be causing the psychiatric condition. Vitamin D deficiency, thyroid abnormalities and pancreatic cancer are some of the medical conditions that can cause depression, he said.
"Psychiatrists are physicians like any other physicians, but it's cumbersome to do the assessments," he said.
As patients cannot always afford to pay for the tests, he has to take the extra step of sending them back to their primary doctor, who can request blood tests and do the checks on his behalf.
Dr Faisal Al Nowais, a psychiatrist at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi, said "no health insurance companies are comfortable covering psychotherapy".
He said he often has to explain why he is doing certain tests and that his requests for them to be covered are "constantly rejected".
"Even though these are standardised tests we have to do, we are constantly fighting with the insurance companies," Dr Al Nowais said, adding that some patients needed weekly tests.
He said if a test or assessment is not covered, the cost comes out of the hospital's budget.
"Our job is not just to be a mental health facility, but to pave the way to make insurance companies aware of what is important," Dr Al Nowais said.
Treatment for mental illnesses is covered by the national health scheme for Emiratis, Thiqa.
Psychiatric treatment is not covered in the general plans of most private health insurance companies, including Alliance Insurance, AXA Gulf and Green Crescent, but can be added at an extra cost.
Daman, which manages Thiqa, only covers it in its Premier Plan.
According to Dr Sven Rohte, Daman's chief commercial officer, emergency psychiatric treatments that require hospitalisation are covered in all their plans, "as they are considered emergency cases".
"An example would be an acute stress attack," he said.
An 18-year-old student at New York University Abu Dhabi who did not wish to be named said she had regularly feigned acute stress attacks to qualify for free therapy sessions and proper medication.
The student, who suffers from depression and borderline personality disorder, said her therapist told her she had to "prove it is an emergency" to have the cost of her weekly treatment covered.
"I had to convince them that I was suicidal and act really depressed," she said.
Her younger sister was diagnosed with the same condition and has been told to do the same thing.
"Shortcuts are sometimes necessary," Dr Al Nowais said. "She's not feigning a panic attack to get high, but to get medicine she needs. More power to her."
Dr Al Nowais said the lack of proper insurance cover was not just a risk for patients, but also for society. "These patients will go out in public, and if they're not properly treated, you never know what they might do."
molson@thenational.ae
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
The biog
Hobbies: Writing and running
Favourite sport: beach volleyball
Favourite holiday destinations: Turkey and Puerto Rico
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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