Artificial intelligence now plays a growing role in healthcare across the United Arab Emirates. The country has moved beyond small AI trials and started to place the technology into major health systems. Abu Dhabi and Dubai lead several of these efforts, with AI support for disease prediction, medical research, surgery, patient services and preventive care.
The UAE has a strong base for this change. Abu Dhabi's Malaffi health information exchange connects 3,141 healthcare facilities and all hospitals across the emirate. More than 55,889 authorised users can access its services. In 2025, Malaffi reached 3.5 billion clinical records across 12.7 million patient profiles. This large health database provides AI systems with access to a wide range of medical information and helps doctors make faster, better-informed decisions.
One of the clearest uses of AI in the UAE involves disease prediction. Abu Dhabi's Department of Health and Malaffi use AI models to assess a patient's future risk of several serious health problems. These include diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, heart attacks and strokes. The system can flag patients who may face a higher risk and help doctors take action at an earlier stage.
This approach supports a major change in healthcare. Instead of waiting for a serious condition to appear, doctors can focus on early warning signs and offer care before the problem becomes more severe. Such a model can support better health outcomes and may also reduce the need for expensive emergency care.
Abu Dhabi has also introduced Population Health Intelligence, an AI-based system that combines clinical, lifestyle and environmental information. The system creates a broader view of health across the emirate and helps health authorities identify risks within different groups.
This model can help officials understand where health problems may rise and where early action may have the greatest value. The Department of Health has described the wider goal as a move toward predictive, personalized and prevention-led healthcare.
AI has also reached the operating room. In 2026, Abu Dhabi announced an emirate-wide intelligent surgical network with Johnson & Johnson. The programme plans to connect operating rooms and use AI through the Polyphonic digital ecosystem, with technology support from AWS, NVIDIA and Core42.
The system aims to give surgeons better decision support, improve surgical precision and help hospitals share knowledge from clinical procedures. This could create more consistent standards across hospitals and help doctors learn from a larger pool of surgical data.
The UAE also sees AI as a tool for more personalized healthcare. Abu Dhabi is combining health records with genomic information, wearable data and other health indicators. Such data can help create a clearer picture of a person's health risks and support more suitable care choices.
A 2026 partnership between the Department of Health and ŌURA focuses on wearable data for preventive healthcare, with early attention on women's health and cardiometabolic risk. This approach can give doctors access to health signals outside the hospital and support earlier action.
AI also helps improve the patient experience. Dubai Health Authority has introduced an AI-based Risk Radar that studies customer-service calls through factors such as sentiment, tone, call frequency and survey responses. The system can identify cases that may need closer attention and help staff respond to service problems faster.
Abu Dhabi has also added AI health services to its digital government ecosystem. Sahatna Space on TAMM plans to offer AI-powered health assistance and personalized health recommendations. M42 has also launched kidney.com, an AI-powered kidney health assistant that provides personalized health information.
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The UAE's AI strategy shows a clear shift from reactive treatment toward prediction, prevention and personalized care. The combination of 3.5 billion clinical records, 12.7 million patient profiles, thousands of connected facilities and new AI systems gives the country a strong foundation for this transition.
AI will not replace doctors. Instead, it can give medical teams better information, earlier warnings and stronger decision support. With careful rules for privacy, safety and clinical accuracy, AI can help the UAE build a healthcare system that detects risks earlier, supports better treatment and gives patients faster access to more personalized care.