Home healthcare and telehealth are the two fastest ways to put licensed clinical care in front of Dubai patients without building a hospital. Both are regulated by the Dubai Health Authority, both run through the same portal, and they are often strongest as one combined operation. This guide covers the licence, the people, the platforms, and the timeline.
One regulator, one portal
In Dubai, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) licenses health facilities, telehealth services, and home healthcare, and applications run through the Sheryan portal. That single front door is good news for operators: the facility licence, the professional licences, and the service approvals all live in one system.
The corollary is that the DHA sees the whole picture. An application that is inconsistent between its clinical scope, its staffing plan, and its technology stack will generate queries, and queries cost weeks.
Choosing the licence scope
The first real decision is scope. A home healthcare operation sends licensed clinicians to the patient: nursing, physiotherapy, and physician visits at home. A telehealth operation delivers consultations remotely. A combined model uses remote consultations to triage and follow up, and home visits to examine and treat.
Scope drives everything downstream: which clinicians you must licence, what your premises need to support, and which digital approvals apply. We help operators define a scope they can staff and grow, rather than the widest scope they can write.
The setup sequence
Define the model
Clinical scope, staffing plan, service hours, and the technology stack are agreed before anything is filed.
Apply through Sheryan
The trade licence and the DHA facility application are prepared and submitted through the Sheryan portal.
Licence the clinicians
Each physician, nurse, and therapist is licensed with the DHA before they can deliver care under your facility.
Stand up the compliant platform
NABIDH integration, DESC-certified hosting where health data is hosted locally, and TDRA approval for the video consultation tools.
Final approval and go live
Inspection and final approvals close out the file, and the service can begin seeing patients.
The digital health rules that catch teams out
Most delays we see in Dubai telehealth and home healthcare projects come from the technology, not the clinic. Three requirements deserve attention from day one.
Three approvals to plan early
- NABIDH is the DHA health information exchange that providers integrate with
- DESC certification applies where health data is hosted locally
- TDRA approval applies to video consultation tools
- The DHA licenses the facility and the service through the Sheryan portal
Choosing platforms that already meet these requirements is significantly cheaper than retrofitting compliance onto a system you have committed to. We review the stack before the application goes in, not after the DHA asks.
Timeline and fees
A telehealth setup runs approximately 45 days end to end, subject to authority response times. A combined home healthcare operation adds the lead time of licensing each clinician, so the staffing plan usually sets the critical path.
The sequence can be compressed by running workstreams in parallel: the facility file, the professional licences, and the platform reviews do not need to wait for each other, and we run them side by side.
Authority fees fall into a small number of categories: the facility application, professional licensing, and the ongoing licence cycle. We do not publish figures because they depend on scope and headcount; request a quotation and we will price the full path for your model. The licensing work itself is covered by our DHA licensing and clinic setup service, from the first Sheryan filing to the final inspection.
Frequently asked questions
Who licenses home healthcare and telehealth in Dubai?
How long does a Dubai telehealth setup take?
Do we need NABIDH, DESC, and TDRA approvals?
Can one operation cover home visits and telehealth?
This guide is general information, not regulatory or legal advice. DHA requirements and digital health standards are updated over time, so confirm current rules with the relevant authority or contact our team before acting.