The UAE health sector is an increasingly important part of the UAE economy and its national wellbeing. Whilst servicing a growing population (both foreign and national) the UAE is also becoming a hub for companies' regional operations as well as a centre for medical tourism.

With the sector being predominantly privatised (underpinned in large part by private medical insurance) a key concern is to regulate the behaviour and service delivery of professionals within the industry. How to balance the business need to operate profitably with the public interest of patient welfare is an issue at the forefront of the Ministry of Health's strategic vision and regulatory rules. This article is one in a series examining how the Ministry of Health seeks to regulate various professionals whose activities fall within its remit.

The UAE Ministry of Health's professional code of conduct for the pharmacy profession (the Code) outlines the standard of behaviour expected of licenced pharmacists, and associated staff, in the UAE.