The Ministry of Public Health: Regulation of Private Health Care Practitioners

The Ministry of Public Health has issued a statement clarifying the latest regulations in dealing with private health care professionals. Although at Meddy we like to get and give feedback for the doctors, if serious accusations or complaints must be made, then the Ministry is better fit to help.

In short, the Ministry published the reasoning behind the “fitness to practice” department that was recently created to help patients safely locate doctors, mentioning “the urgent need to regulate healthcare practitioners in the State of Qatar,” and stating that the department works “for the purpose of protecting the public against unsafe, un-ethical, or improper practices, and to monitor the performance of healthcare practitioners in order to ensure their abidance with the rules and regulations of the health sector within the state.”

Although it is impossible for a medical practitioner to work in Qatar without an authentic license from the Ministry, there could be some that claim to be functional doctors or medical practitioners. Here are some things that you as a patient are entitled to ask about prior to receiving medical attention:

• Licensing number of the doctor
• The location or facility that they work in
• The medical practitioner’s qualifications

The “Fitness to Practice” department aims to ensure the quality of your health care. According to the Ministry of Public Health, the department deals with:

• Poor standards of clinical care
• Unethical conduct or behavior
• Expecting medical error or negligence in treatment
• Practicing without license or out of scope
• Concerns of the practitioner’s physical or mental health which could affect their practice.

“The department cannon award compensation or order a practitioner/facility to refund fees.”

If you do want to post a complaint with the “Fitness to Practice” department then you need to keep in mind these steps:

1. Make sure you talk to the practitioner or facility first to see if there is a possibility to resolve the issue first hand
2. Include your full name, contact details including a phone number and an email address for the patient complaining
3. Include the name and scope of the healthcare practitioner/practice facility of the location of the incident in as much detail as you can
4. The date in which you received treatment or visited the doctor
5. The type of treatment received or medication prescribed
6. The names and contact details (if possible) of other medical practitioners whom you consulted from the same facility or of another.
7. Copies of documents related to the complaint. Medical records, reports, blood tests, results of tests, x-rays or correspondence between the patient and practitioner/facility.