Dubai cultivated its image as an ambitiously hyperactive Middle Eastern kingdom in part by becoming home to an estimated quarter of all construction cranes in the world and by bringing the world’s largest indoor ski slope to the desert. Seven years ago Dubai turned this go-go attitude to health care when it began a unique public/private partnership called the Dubai Health Care City (DHCC).

With DHCC’s first phase now completed, the kingdom’s vision of this medical “free zone” continues to take shape, just as the Middle East and other regions across the world grapple with the steepest economic downturn since World War II.

So far, plans are officially on track for the from-scratch “center of excellence” that is rising unencumbered by legacy health care technology, entrenched medical practices and antiquated business systems. “[Local and international organizations] are building clinics and hospitals, providing clinical and wellness services, and doing medical education and research,” said Alexandra Tarazi, DHCC’s director of information technology.

Dubai’s heath care free-zone model attracts domestic and foreign investors by offering an island of regulatory