Health Authority – Abu Dhabi Launches e-Sick Leave Attestation System

The new system will help improve the sick leave attestation process and save time and efforts of all concerned parties.

Dr. Jamal Al Kaabi, Director, Customer Care & Corporate Communication Division at HAAD said: “HAAD is continuously working on improving its services, the launch of the e-sick leave attestation system is one step towards more efficient and easy to follow process that will improve our customers’ satisfaction and ensure a better adherence to health regulations and standards among physicians.”

“The new system improves the transparency on regulatory requirements; supports decision making through access to international evidence based guidance for sick leave periods and ensures health care providers are aware of their duties when issuing sick leave certificates”, Al Kaabi added.

Sick leaves are divided into two types, short term sick leaves (for a period up to seven days, consecutive or otherwise) and long term sick leaves (all types of sick leave reports issued for a period greater than seven consecutive days).

The e-system will automatically approve all short term sick leave periods that are matching with the evidence based sick leave periods standard and the Medical Committee rules and regulation.

General Practitioners may issue short term sick leaves while specialists and consultants can issue long terms sick leaves.

Mouza Al Mansouri, Section Head, Medical Committees at HAAD says: “A Physician should determine the appropriate sick leave period based on the case concerned, and supportive clinical evidence. Upon complete electronic submission, the system displays a message that the short-term sick leave is auto approved, the Physician prints the certificate sign & stamps it and provides to the patient. We at the Medical Committees Section at HAAD receive note and records of issuance.”

Sick leaves for more than 7 days require review and attestation by the Medical Committee. For few known cases like chickenpox and hepatitis (A), a general practitioner within his scope of practice and privileges s/he holds can issue a more than 7 days sick leave however sick leave period must be consistent with the international evidence based sick leave period standard.

“Human Recourse Departments at all Governmental Authorities are requested to send a record of patient’s short term sick leaves that exceed 21 days per annum to the Medical committee through their own representative” Al Mansouri added.

This system includes the periods of sick leaves for each diagnosis or illness and it is based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD9). Also the sick leave issuance regulations have been set based on International Evidence Based criteria as the standard of sick leave periods was established by using the international medical reference:

The Medical Disability Advisor: work place guidelines for disability duration

by REED GROUP;

This reference is considered as World’s most comprehensive set of disability management and it is actively used by multinational organizations in more than thirty eight countries. 

The Health Authority started a pilot testing since April 2011, ever since and until December 2011; the system has approved 55454 sick leaves.