Frequently asked questions

It depends on where you operate. DHA licenses Dubai (outside Dubai Healthcare City), DOH licenses Abu Dhabi, MOHAP covers the Northern Emirates, and DHCC/DHCR licenses facilities inside Dubai Healthcare City. Sharjah also has its own authority (SHA) and free zone (SHCC). We confirm the correct authority for your activity in your consultation.

There are typically five: (1) initial application and security clearance, (2) site selection and fit-out/architectural approval, (3) construction and equipment install, (4) staff/professional licensing on a parallel track, and (5) final inspection and license issuance. Facility licenses are usually valid one year with annual renewal.

Through four steps: eligibility and profile creation on the authority portal (Sheryan or TAMM), DataFlow primary-source verification of credentials, a Prometric licensing exam, an eligibility letter, then activation against a licensed facility.

DataFlow primary-source verification typically takes around 20–45 working days. It runs in parallel with Prometric exam preparation, so it rarely needs to be the bottleneck if managed well.

The Prometric computer-based test is the licensing exam for clinicians — roughly a two-hour test of about 100–150 multiple-choice questions, with a pass mark around 60–65% and up to three attempts per year. It can be sat abroad and runs alongside DataFlow.

Yes — 100% foreign ownership is available for most healthcare activities on the mainland (since 2021) and in free zones such as DHCC and SHCC. We structure ownership correctly for your specific activity and emirate.

Mainland lets you serve patients anywhere in the emirate and suits community GP, dental and specialist centres, with more regulatory layers. Free zones (DHCC, SHCC) offer streamlined setup and suit medical-tourism, international brands and premium clusters, but mainly serve a within-zone catchment.

UAE corporate tax is 0% on profits up to AED 375,000 and 9% above, with free zones potentially accessing 0% on qualifying income. Confirm your position with a tax advisor; we factor it into your financial model.

Yes. Buying a licensed clinic can be faster but requires due diligence, valuation and proper regulatory transaction handling for the license transfer. We advise on whether to buy or build.

A standard clinic typically takes around 3–6 months from application to license issuance; hospitals take longer. MedGrowth compresses this by running licensing, fit-out and recruitment in parallel.

First-year investment is dominated by fit-out and equipment, not authority fees. Indicative ranges: single-specialty dental AED 2.5–3.6M, a multispecialty centre AED 9.3–12.1M, and a day-surgery centre AED 21–27M. We give you a tailored figure in your consultation.

Authority fees are a small share of total cost — Abu Dhabi facility fees, for example, run roughly AED 7,000–40,000 depending on type. The bulk of your budget is fit-out (≈AED 600–1,200/sqft) and equipment.

Our fees depend on scope — a single licensing track costs far less than an end-to-end turnkey project. We quote transparently after understanding your project in a free consultation, with no hidden coordination costs.

JCI is not mandatory for most clinics, but it's the gold standard that medical-tourism patients and insurers increasingly look for. It involves gap analysis, documentation, mock surveys and certification cycles.

JAWDA (and Muashir) are DOH quality programmes that monitor clinical KPIs in Abu Dhabi. JAWDA Data Certification (JDC) is a mandatory audit tied to insurer contracts in Abu Dhabi. We manage KPI monitoring and the JDC audit.

ISO 9001 demonstrates a structured quality-management system and supports patient-safety standards and insurer trust. It's a strong complement to authority quality requirements.

Preparation is everything: pre-inspection audits against the authority's standards, corrected documentation, and infection-control and facility readiness. We run inspection-readiness audits before final licensing and unannounced visits.

Through insurance empanelment — applying to insurers and TPAs (Daman, Thiqa, NAS, MedNet), negotiating payer contracts and pricing. We start this early so you're in-network at launch, because off-network clinics lose patients.

Clinics typically lose 3–20% of revenue to claim errors — coding mistakes, documentation gaps and denials. Revenue cycle management with proper coding, claims submission via eClaimLink/Shafafiya, and denial management recovers it.

Yes, but within strict rules. DHA and MOHAP regulate medical advertising and require permits; claims like "guaranteed cure" or "100%" are prohibited under DHA's social-media advertising standards. We secure ad permits and vet your messaging.

Seven pillars: Setup & Licensing, Strategy & Feasibility, Accreditation & Quality, Marketing & Growth, Recruitment & Staffing, Insurance & RCM, and Fit-out & Turnkey — covering the full lifecycle from idea to growth.

Both. MedGrowth is built to take you from license to growth. After your clinic opens we drive RCM, accreditation, recruitment and marketing.