Navigate the Abu Dhabi Health Information and Cyber Security Standard with confidence. From gap assessment to full certification readiness — we protect your patients, your data, and your licence to operate.
Our teams across the US, UK, Singapore, and India support clients through every timezone and regulatory context.
What is ADHICS?
The Abu Dhabi Health Information and Cyber Security Standard (ADHICS) is a mandatory regulatory framework issued by the Abu Dhabi Department of Health (DOH). It defines the information security and cyber resilience controls that every licensed healthcare entity in the emirate must implement and maintain.
ADHICS draws its architecture from internationally recognised frameworks — including ISO/IEC 27001, NIST, and the UAE’s own National Cybersecurity Strategy — and applies them specifically to the healthcare context. This means controls are calibrated for Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), clinical systems, telehealth platforms, and the digital infrastructure that powers modern patient care.
For hospitals, clinics, diagnostic labs, health insurers, and health information exchanges operating in Abu Dhabi, ADHICS is not optional. Compliance is a licence condition — and the DOH conducts both scheduled and surprise audits to verify adherence.
Beyond the regulatory obligation, ADHICS matters because healthcare data is uniquely sensitive. A patient’s medical history, insurance details, and personal identifiers are among the most valuable — and most exploited — records on the dark web. Getting ADHICS-compliant isn’t just about avoiding penalties; it’s about fulfilling a duty of care to every patient you serve.
A structured five-phase approach that takes you from your current security posture to verifiable, sustainable ADHICS compliance.
Define organisational boundaries, stakeholders, and applicable ADHICS domains
Control-by-control review against ADHICS requirements with documented findings
Asset identification, threat modelling, and risk scoring across all clinical environments
We don’t offer generic cybersecurity advice retrofitted for healthcare. We bring deep UAE regulatory knowledge, clinical sector expertise, and proven delivery methodology to every engagement.
Our consultants maintain active working knowledge of DOH regulatory cycles, ADHICS version updates, and Abu Dhabi's evolving healthcare data governance landscape — so you're never caught off-guard by a policy change.
We have successfully prepared healthcare organisations across the UAE for DOH compliance audits — with zero major findings on first-attempt assessments for clients who completed our full readiness programme.
Every engagement produces tangible outputs: gap reports, risk registers, policy documentation, implementation plans, and evidence packages — all formatted to meet DOH expectations and satisfy auditors.
We understand how EMR systems, PACS platforms, clinical workflows, and health information exchanges actually operate — enabling security recommendations that work in practice, not just in theory.
Our ISO 27001, NIST, and HIPAA experience means we map international best practices directly to ADHICS requirements — giving your organisation the dual benefit of global compliance readiness and UAE-specific regulatory conformance.
As an independent consulting firm, we have no software or product affiliations. Our recommendations are driven purely by your compliance needs — never by vendor incentives or technology sales targets.
Whether you’re beginning your compliance journey or preparing for a DOH audit, our specialist team delivers structured, outcome-focused support at every stage of the ADHICS lifecycle.
A structured audit of your current security posture against all ADHICS control domains — identifying compliance gaps before the DOH does, with a prioritised remediation roadmap.
Quantitative and qualitative risk analysis across your clinical systems, network infrastructure, and data-handling processes — aligned to ADHICS risk management requirements.
Hands-on guidance to build, configure, and operationalise the technical and administrative controls required under ADHICS — from policy drafting to system hardening and staff training.
Pre-audit mock assessments, evidence compilation, and documentation review to ensure you enter every DOH compliance audit fully prepared and confident.
UAE-contextualised cybersecurity training programmes for clinical staff, IT teams, and management — building a compliance culture from the frontline up.
Continuous monitoring, quarterly reviews, and annual re-assessments to maintain your ADHICS compliance posture as regulations evolve and your organisation grows.
From single-specialty clinics to large hospital networks — our consulting services scale to your organisation’s size, complexity, and existing compliance maturity.
Large-scale compliance programmes for multi-department, multi-site healthcare facilities with complex IT environments and high patient data volumes.
Right-sized ADHICS compliance solutions for specialist practices — efficient, affordable, and calibrated to your specific clinical risk profile and operational footprint.
ADHICS compliance for entities handling sensitive claims data, member records, and financial health information — with a focus on data governance and third-party risk management.
Security and compliance advisory for UAE-based digital health innovators building on the national digital health infrastructure — balancing rapid growth with ADHICS obligations.
Compliance support for technology vendors supplying EMR systems, diagnostic platforms, and clinical software to UAE healthcare providers subject to ADHICS requirements.
Targeted ADHICS compliance for diagnostics providers managing sensitive test results, imaging data, and integrated pathology information systems within the Abu Dhabi health ecosystem.
From single-specialty clinics to large hospital networks — our consulting services scale to your organisation’s size, complexity, and existing compliance maturity.
Clear, expert answers to the questions UAE businesses ask most about ADHICS compliance.
Yes, ADHICS applies to every entity that creates, stores, or processes health information in Abu Dhabi — private hospitals, specialist clinics, insurers, and even health IT vendors supplying systems to DOH-licensed facilities. There are no exemptions based on organisation size or ownership structure. If your operations touch patient data or connect to Malaffi, compliance is a legal obligation, not a choice.
ADHICS V2 significantly expanded on V1 by introducing stricter controls around cloud security, medical device cybersecurity, third-party risk management, and incident response — areas the original version barely touched. Achieving V1 compliance does not carry over, and a structured gap assessment is essential before assuming your existing programme meets current DOH expectations. Organisations that skip this step often discover critical control gaps only when a DOH inspection is already underway.
A mid-sized clinic or specialty centre should realistically plan for 6 to 12 months from initial gap assessment to audit-ready status, depending on existing security maturity and available internal resources. Larger hospital networks with multi-site operations and complex system integrations often require 12 to 18 months. Engaging a specialist ADHICS consultant early consistently shortens this timeline and reduces remediation costs.
DOH enforces ADHICS through both scheduled and unannounced inspections, and critical findings can trigger formal corrective action plans, financial penalties, or in severe cases, suspension of your operating licence. The standard expects audit-ready evidence at all times — not just during inspection windows — which catches many facilities off guard. Beyond regulatory penalties, a publicised compliance failure can cause lasting reputational damage in a patient trust-driven market.
ISO 27001 gives you a solid governance foundation but does not make you ADHICS-compliant, as ADHICS mandates healthcare-specific controls that ISO 27001 simply doesn't address — including EMR audit logging, Malaffi integration security, clinical data residency, and DOH breach notification timelines. A targeted ADHICS gap assessment against your existing ISO 27001 controls will identify exactly what's missing without rebuilding your entire programme from scratch. In most cases, the remediation gap is smaller than expected, making certification readiness very achievable.
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