Malaffi, NABIDH and Riayati: UAE Health Exchanges Explained

A physician moving between Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah works under three health regulators, and each has its own health information exchange (HIE). Malaffi, NABIDH and Riayati are now linked to each other, but for a clinic the key question is still which one your licence connects you to, and what that requires. Here is an overview based on official announcements and published data.

Three exchanges, three regulators

As a rule, your licensing authority decides which exchange you report to. A DoH licence means Malaffi, a DHA licence means NABIDH, and a MOHAP licence means Riayati.

Malaffi (Abu Dhabi)

Malaffi went live in 2018. Adoption was fast: a 2019 report noted that all 59 hospitals in the emirate were connected, along with about 1,100 clinics and medical centres. In August 2025 the DoH reported that Malaffi held 3.5 billion clinical records and 12.7 million patient profiles, with 53,476 authorised users across 3,072 healthcare facilities, including hospitals, clinics and pharmacies.

Doctors use it to see a patient's history, including diagnoses, medications, allergies, lab results and radiology reports, from other facilities in the emirate at the point of care.

NABIDH (Dubai)

NABIDH is the DHA's exchange. Connection is tied to DHA licensing and is being rolled out in phases by facility category. A study published in an AHIMA journal found that 1,527 of 2,572 healthcare facilities in Dubai (59.5%) had been integrated between October 2020 and March 2025. In the first phase, 29 facility categories were selected for onboarding by the DHA's physician advisory committee.

The same study lists the technical standards the DHA requires: HL7 v2 and v3, CDA R2 and FHIR R4, plus IHE profiles such as PIX and PDQ for patient identification. For a clinic, this means the EMR vendor must support a certified NABIDH interface. In practice, connection is a project to plan, not a box to tick.

Riayati (national)

Riayati is MOHAP's National Unified Medical Record platform. It was built with the DoH, the DHA and Emirates Health Services. Under a ministerial decision, facilities licensed by MOHAP had to join it within a year.

The three exchanges were connected under an agreement signed at Arab Health in January 2023. MOHAP then reported that patient records from about 3,000 medical establishments registered on Riayati had been linked to Malaffi and NABIDH. A later joint release said Riayati held 2.7 billion medical records for 11.6 million patients from over 3,850 facilities. It also described a next phase in which users can see Malaffi and NABIDH data through Riayati.

What it means in daily practice

For clinicians

• A patient's outside history is often available. Check the exchange before repeating tests, especially imaging and lab panels.
• The quality of the shared record depends on what each clinician sends. Structured diagnoses, clear medication lists and complete reports help colleagues in other emirates.

For clinic owners and IT leads

• Make sure your EMR vendor is certified for the exchange your regulator requires and that the interface is maintained after upgrades.
• Budget for data quality work, including patient identifiers, coding and report completeness, because poor data reflects on your facility.
• Exchange connectivity sits alongside your obligations under Federal Law No. 2 of 2019 on health data, including localisation and retention.

For hospital leaders

• Exchange data supports care coordination and population health programmes. Regulators increasingly expect facilities to use it as well as feed it.

Key takeaways

• Your licensing authority decides your exchange: DoH means Malaffi, DHA means NABIDH, and MOHAP means Riayati.
• Malaffi covered 3,072 facilities and 12.7 million patient profiles by August 2025.
• NABIDH is rolled out in phases and is based on standards. Check that your EMR supports HL7 and FHIR interfaces.
• Since 2023 the three platforms have been linked, so your reports can be read across emirates.
• Complete, well-structured clinical reports are what make an HIE useful.

Frequently asked questions

Which health information exchange does my UAE clinic need?

It depends on your licensing authority: Malaffi for Department of Health Abu Dhabi licences, NABIDH for Dubai Health Authority licences, and Riayati for Ministry of Health and Prevention licences.

Are Malaffi, NABIDH and Riayati connected?

Yes. An integration agreement was signed at Arab Health in January 2023, and records from Riayati-registered facilities were linked to Malaffi and NABIDH.

How big is Malaffi?

In August 2025 the Department of Health reported 3.5 billion clinical records and 12.7 million patient profiles, with 53,476 authorised users across 3,072 facilities.

Sources

1. WAM — 'Malaffi' reaches 3.5 billion clinical records: DoH
2. Department of Health Abu Dhabi — UAE health authorities announce successful integration between Riayati, Malaffi and NABIDH
3. Gulf News — Arab Health: UAE links patient records from 3,000 health facilities on single platform
4. AHIMA Perspectives in Health Information Management — Health information exchange as a strategy for advancing the modernization of healthcare in Dubai
5. Gulf News — All Abu Dhabi hospitals now connected to central database of millions of patient records

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General information, checked at the publication date; it is neither medical nor legal advice.