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Department of Healthcare Professions

Committed to Patient Safety

DHP

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Department of Healthcare Professions
Committed to Patient Safety

Historical Overview

Due to the urgent need to regulate healthcare practitioners in the healthcare sector in the State of Qatar , the Medical Licensing Department was established as a department of the Ministry of Public Health under Article No. (9) Of Law No. (13) Of the year 2002, and its responsibilities are defined under article No. (13) of the mentioned law.

Afterwards,​ Emiri decree No.7 was declared in March 2013, which provided for the establishment of the Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners (QCHP) as an independent council rather than being a department within the Secretariat of the Ministry of Public Health;​ 

Finally, Emiri decree no. 14 was published in February 2019, ​​regarding the new organizational structure of the Ministry of Public Health ​​where the Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners was abolished and replaced by the Department of Healthcare Professions to become the sole authority responsible for the regulation of healthcare practitioners working in the State of Qatar.​

The department functions through three sections, which work solely and in collaboration on improving healthcare quality and ensuring patient safety. These sections are:

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  • Our Vision

    To become a locally and​​ internationally recognized body for accreditation and regulatory services for healthcare practitioners.

  • Our Mission

    Our Mission is to ensure that healthcare practitioners are competent and safe to deliver quality healthcare services in Qatar.

  • Our Values

    Fairness - Principles of fairness and integrity in everything we do.

    Respect - Respect for ourselves and those we regulate.

    Progressive - Continuous innovation in order to improve and develop our services.

Functions and Responsibilities​
  • Drawing up the specifications and conditions of accrediting hospitals, health centers, clinics, and training and rehabilitation centers for health practitioners.
  • Carrying out all administrative work related to issuing the licenses for practicing health and medical professions, and issuing and revoking licenses to practice these professions.
  • Laying the bases for evaluating the certificates of various medical specialties and determining the conditions required to include the health practitioner's name in the Ministry's Registers, which qualifies him for obtaining the degree of specialization in the future, and supervising it.
  • Developing and supervising the standards of specialized health programs.
  • Drawing up the standards of continuing medical education programs in all health specialties.
  • Drawing up the conditions of the ethics of practicing the health and medical professions and taking action which aim at ensuring compliance with them.
  • Receiving complaints related to any of the health and medical specialties and their practitioners and taking the necessary related action.
  • Drawing up the general plans for training and developing the healthcare human resources.
  • Coordinating and cooperating​​​​​ with competent authorities in the field of regional and international health specialties.
  • Cooperating with educational and academic institutions and different medical bodies to organize and hold training courses for all practitioners of health professions to qualify them for specialization.​​​