Dental clinics rated 4.5 or higher at 88.3%, hospitals and medical centers at 58.5%

Across the UAE, 73.6% of licensed healthcare facilities with at least 10 Google reviews are rated 4.5 or higher, according to the Zavis UAE Patient Experience Index. That figure hides wide gaps. Among Dental Clinics, 88.3% are rated 4.5 or higher. Among Hospitals & Medical Centers, the share is 58.5%.

Google ratings are public and appear next to a facility's name. For operators, insurers and investors, the gaps show where patients' public view of care is weaker. For patients, the gaps are a reminder to read a rating against others of the same type of facility.

The index covers 5,019 facilities and 1,743,732 Google reviews, held in the UAE Open Healthcare Directory and read between April 2026 and October 2026. The median Google rating is 4.7. Only 8.4% of facilities are rated below 4.0.

Specialist clinics rate above hospitals and labs

Smaller, single-specialty facilities score well with reviewers, Zavis analysis shows. Dental Clinics have a median rating of 4.8, and just 2.8% are rated below 4.0. Eye Care & Ophthalmology has a median of 4.8, with 86.5% rated 4.5 or higher. Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation has a median of 4.9 and a share rated 4.5 or higher of 84.3%. In Dermatology & Skin Care, 1.4% of facilities are rated below 4.0. Home Healthcare reaches 83.7%.

Hospitals & Medical Centers sit lower. Their median rating is 4.5, and 12.3% are rated below 4.0. The group is small, at 130 facilities, but it draws 320,236 reviews. Labs & Diagnostics have a median of 4.4, with 48.4% rated 4.5 or higher and 19.4% below 4.0. Medical Equipment & Supplies has a median of 4.3 and 24% rated below 4.0, though it covers only 25 facilities.

The two biggest groups sit in the middle. General Clinics & Polyclinics, with 2,254 facilities and 928,861 reviews, have 71.9% rated 4.5 or higher. Pharmacies, with 1,316 facilities, have 68.5% at that level and 11.5% below 4.0.

The data does not say why ratings differ. One possible reading is that patients rate a single, planned visit more kindly than a hospital stay or a test, which can involve waiting, bills or bad news. That is an inference, not a finding.

Dubai rates above Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates

Ratings also split by city. In Dubai, 80.8% of the 2,967 rated facilities are rated 4.5 or higher, and the median rating is 4.8. Only 5.9% are rated below 4.0. Dubai facilities hold 1,098,272 reviews.

Abu Dhabi looks different. Of its 907 rated facilities, 59.9% are rated 4.5 or higher and 14.4% are rated below 4.0. Its median rating is 4.6. Al Ain has a similar profile, with 59.4% rated 4.5 or higher and 10.7% below 4.0.

Sharjah, with 570 facilities, has 67.2% rated 4.5 or higher. Ajman has 66.8%, with 12.6% below 4.0. Umm Al Quwain shows 71.1% rated 4.5 or higher, but the base is just 38 facilities, so small changes can move the figure.

The mix of facility types in each city may explain part of the gap, but this index does not test that.

The most-reviewed facilities are mostly hospitals

Review volume tells a separate story. The most-reviewed facility in the index is Damas Medical Center in Sharjah, a general clinic with 17,808 reviews and a rating of 4.3. Medcare Hospital in Dubai follows with 17,200 reviews and a rating of 4.7.

Hospitals & Medical Centers make up much of the most-reviewed list. Ratings among them vary. Medeor Hospital Dubai, Aster Cedars Hospital Jebel Ali and International Modern Hospital in Dubai are each rated 4.8. Burjeel Darak Hospital in Abu Dhabi and Nmc Specialty Hospital DIP in Dubai are each rated 4.4.

Perfect scores at scale

Some facilities hold a 5.0 rating across thousands of reviews. V F S And A M H Medical Fitness Center in Dubai is rated 5 with 16,809 reviews. Smart Salem Center in Dubai is rated 5 with 10,816 reviews. Capital Medical Centre For Health Screening in Al Ain is rated 5 with 3,865 reviews.

The list of highest-rated facilities with 500 or more reviews also includes Dental Clinics, such as Synergy Advanced Dental And Orthodontic Center in Abu Dhabi, and Eye Care & Ophthalmology providers, such as Frame Optics in Dubai.

What it means

For operators: a rating should be compared against the same type of facility. A hospital where 58.5% of its peers are rated 4.5 or higher faces a different benchmark from a dental clinic, where the share is 88.3%. Labs and diagnostics operators face the hardest comparison, with 19.4% of their group rated below 4.0.

For insurers and investors: the city gap stands out. Abu Dhabi has 14.4% of facilities rated below 4.0, against 5.9% in Dubai. That is a measure of public perception, not of clinical quality, and should be read as such.

For patients: look at the number of reviews as well as the rating. A 5.0 from a handful of reviews says less than a 4.7 from thousands. Ratings reflect only the patients who chose to post a review, and they were read on different dates, so recent changes may not yet show.