Qatar's licensing for healthcare practitioners becomes more efficient and faster

Licensing of healthcare practitioners in Qatar has become faster and more efficient with the introduction and enhancements of the online system and advanced primary source verification process of medical degrees and other related documents, said a senior official of the Qatar Council of Healthcare Practitioners (QCHP) at the Ministry of Public Health.

The number of licences issued to healthcare practitioners in Qatar reached about 21,000 by the end of last year and the QCHP, the regulatory body, is expecting a further increase of up to 140% in the next five years, with an average increase of 27% every year.

The regulatory authorities earlier faced a major issue with fake or forged certificates submitted by some professionals seeking a licence to practice in Qatar.

Such cases have now come down significantly with the implementation of the verification system in collaboration with a reputable international agency, said Dr Samar Aboulsoud, acting CEO of the QCHP.

“We’ve been constantly updating the online system for registration and licensing of healthcare practitioners. This has made the procedures smoother and faster. Almost all the procedures can now be completed online, including the booking of licensing tests and payment of fees. We’re planning to go 100% online in the near future,” Aboulsoud told The Peninsula.

“If all requirements are fully met, the practitioners’ licence can be issued in two to three weeks after submission of the complete request,” she added.

However, one area where delays could occur is verification of degree certificates and other documents, depending on the source countries.

“We’ve been facing delays, especially in countries hit by conflicts and political instability. Sometimes it would take one year or more to get the required feedback from the verifier universities or authorities there,” said Aboulsoud.

 “Sometimes we may not get any response. Then we’ll have to rely on alternative methods to verify the certificates,” said Aboulsoud, adding that professionals from several Arab countries are still coming to Qatar.

She said that the number of healthcare practitioners in Qatar is growing fast with major expansions and several new projects being implemented in health sector.

The number of licences issued to healthcare practitioners increased by 37% between 2012 and 2014. While it was 12,335 in 2012, it moved up to 17,000 in 2014. It further increased by 27% reaching about 21,000 licences by the end of 2015.

The official said that incidents of using forged documents to obtain a medical licence in Qatar have dropped due to a thorough verification system. A license-seeker can complete most of the licensing procedures from abroad using the online system.

The applicants are required to submit the degree certificates and other documents online and if any forgery is detected at this stage, the applicant will not be allowed to enter Qatar.

In some cases the forgery may be discovered while the applicant is in Qatar or even after a licence was issued specially with the project of retrospective verification of those who are already licensed before the implementation of the verification system early in 2009.

“Healthcare practitioners engaging in such crimes will face stern action including blacklisting. Once blacklisted in Qatar, their names will be circulated in other GCC states as well,” said Aboulsoud.

QCHP has also introduced an efficient and transparent system to deal with complaints from patients about healthcare practitioners’ performance.

“Every day we receive several complaints from patients through various channels. We’ve also introduced an online system to receive complaints. A special committee at the Ministry looks into all complaints and investigate them, in a transparent and non-biased manner. We’ve taken action against several erring practitioners,” said Aboulsoud.