Qatar: Alternative cures including Homeopathy get official nod
22 June 2010

DOHA: Qatar may soon have more facilities and practitioners offering alternative medicine as the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) is working on a comprehensive policy to organise and regulate this important sector.

A proposal to open up the Qatari healthcare sector to include internationally approved branches of alternative medicine has been pending for long. A clear decision on this issue can be expected very soon, a senior SCH official said yesterday.

"The Supreme Council of Health is preparing a comprehensive policy taking into account all aspects of this issue. The proposed plan would come up for the consideration of the Permanent Licensing Committee very soon," Dr Jamal Rashid Al Khanji, Director of the Medical Licensing Department at SCH, said in an interview with The Peninsula.

"There is a need for alternative medicine in the country and we must address that need in a safe way. We must ensure that fraudsters don't enter the market in the name of alternative medicine. This calls for strict supervision as well as standards and regulations to organise and monitor the sector," added Al Khanji.

He said the department had already granted permission to a few private facilities to offer alternative medicine, including homeopathy, and was ready to consider more applications from qualified practitioners operating in this field.

The department is responsible for licensing and monitoring all private healthcare practitioners as well as facilities in the country. According to the requirements set by the department, only physicians in homeopathy holding a master's degree are eligible to apply for a licence, explained Al Khanji. He, however, added that the criteria were subject to change since clear-cut standards and regulations were yet to be laid down in this sector.

"We know that a homeopathy practitioner does not necessarily require such high qualifications. However, we have opted for that as a beginning to organise the sector. Such regulations can be relaxed in future," said Al Khanji.

He noted that there was already a system in place in Qatar to monitor the import and sale of herbal and other traditional medicines. Qatar had recently banned several medicines that claim to be herbal, having found that they contain hazardous chemicals.

The Pharmacy and Drugs Control Department at SCH is responsible for licensing and monitoring all medicines being imported into and sold in the country.

"There will be stricter monitoring of medicines as well as the practitioners when the market is open to alternative medicine," said Al Khanji.

He pointed out that some other GCC countries that had already allowed alternative medicine were also in the process of regulating the sector.

"Ideally, there should be an exclusive department to handle alternative medicine. Qatar being a small country, we don't feel that need at this stage," said the official.

Source : http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/54704-alternative-cures-get-official-nod.html
Supreme Council of Health : www.zawya.com/cm/profile.cfm/cid1004542

Contact Details
Supreme Council of Health
6th Floor
Al Sadd Area
P.O. Box 42
Doha, Qatar
Tel: +974 407-000
Fax: +974 407-0866
Email: info@sch.gov.qa
Website: www.sch.gov.qa
 

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Weill Cornell Medical College. Qatar
Alternative Therapies Gaining Acceptance
Ravinder Mamtani, M.D, Professor
Senior Medical Students Manisha Deb Roy, Marwa Ahmed and Yasir Tarabichi
 

Typical cases seen in a doctor’s clinic or the outpatient department of a city hospital might include the following patients:
A young woman with a frequently occurring anxiety/depression,
A 50- year old man with chronic low back pain,
A working mother with debilitating headaches,
A male smoker with history of diabetes and obesity,
An eight-year old child with repeated ear and throat infections

ln many instances, top-notch specialists and experts may have evaluated these patients and, too often, told some of them, "We have nothing else to offer you," or "This is the best we can do for you," or " You may have to live with this problem," or other words to that effect.

Patients such as these often feel helpless and frustrated. The events and stories surrounding their suffering are innumerable and continue to pose challenges for all those concerned with human welfare, safety and health.

Some of these patients will do anything to end their agony and misery. As a result, many are turning to unconventional treatments, also called complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

Use of Alternative Therapies on the Rise
The percentage of people using CAM therapies in the developed world ranges from 25- 50 percent. ln the U.S., about 40 percent of the public reports the yearly use of at least one alternative therapy, according to the Journal of American Medical Association
(1998). There is widespread demand for and use of these therapies among those with chronic diseases such as cancer. Similar trends are also evident in Norway, France, Australia, Great Britain and Russia. Middle Eastern countries such as UAE and Qatar are also witnessing increasing use of alternative treatments.

Some of these alternative therapies commonly used worldwide include herbal medicine, nutrition supplements and megavitamins, acupuncture, homeopathy, massage, and mind/body interventions such as yoga, relaxation and meditation. Use of acupuncture, cupping and herbal medicine has been reported in Middle Eastem countries such as Qatar and UAE. The likely users of these therapies include those suffering from health problems such as pain, headache and migraine, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), musculoskeletal problems, arthritic conditions, or anxiety and depression.

lt is becoming evident that programs that offer preventive and wholesome options based on a variety of altemative healing systems are gaining popularity worldwide. Besides forming the basis of a refreshing and novel method of treatment and healing, these programs are producing positive scientific results.

So, how effective are these treatments? Several alterative therapies have been proven to be effective for certain diseases. There is sufficient evidence, for example, to support the use of (a) acupuncture for headaches/ migraines, chronic low back and neck pain, gastrointestinal problems (nausea), and addiction problems, (b) hypnosis for pain and nausea; (c) massage therapy for anxiety; (d) herbs for certain conditions, e.g., St John’s wort for mild depression; and (d) mind/body techniques such as meditation, yoga and biofeedback for pain and anxiety disorders.

High Satisfaction Rates with CAM
Medical doctors who use CAM in their practice report benefits both for their patients and themselves. Several studies have repeatedly confirmed that patient satisfaction with CAM is very high. For cancer patients, satisfaction with CAM is high even without the expectation of anticancer effects.

There are many CAM therapies, however, that have little to offer, or might even be harmful to patients. Coffee enemas, ozone therapy, inappropriate large doses of vitamins, and use of shark cartilage are examples of such therapies.

Despite valid positive research findings, many health care providers including medical doctors remain unfamiliar with or skeptical about the usefulness and limitations of CAM. Recent survey data, however, shows physicians and patients are becoming increasingly interested in a holistic and integrated approach to disease management. This approach makes available to consumers both conventional and unconventional modalities that best serve their interest. Health care providers must become informed  practitioners so they can provide appropriate and meaningful advice to patients concerning benefits and limitations of CAM. Similarly, patients interested in CAM should discuss integrative approaches to disease management with their health care providers.

A prudent approach for the use of alternative therapies is to provide them as adjunctive or complementary, rather than as alternative. While health care practitioners should be brave enough to use proven CAM treatments when indicated, they also should be brave enough to discourage the use of harmful therapies. For example, we now know that self- medication with large doses of vitamins and unwarranted use of certain herbal supplements could have detrimental health effects.

Source : Office of Public Affairs Michael Vertigans Christopher Gibbons
WCMC-Q Director Assistant Editor / Writer
Education City Phone: +974 492 8650 Phone: +974 492 8651
P0. BOX 24144 Fax; +974 492 8444 Fax: +974 492 8657
Doha, Qatar Email: miv2008@qatar-med.cornell.edu  Email: cag2027@qatar-med.cornell.edu

 Procedures for registering with National Health Authority  

First you should register with the National Health Authority. They will call you for 7 days training. After that they will conduct an Examination which you have to pass with a good score. Once you are through, they will issue a license for two years,  renewable every two year through same process.

First, you have to go to your embassy and have those credentials and certificates authenticated--then go to Ministry of foreign affairs here in Doha, to have those credentials authenticated by the embassy--authenticated again by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here.

Submit the requirements (CV,diploma,board rating/board certificate copies of seminars and certificates) and pay QR100 at the cashier. Wait for the receipt, as you need to present this when claiming the evaluation. It is going to take about 1 month or 25 days.

National Health Authority
The National Health Authority (NHA) was established as per the Emiri Decision No. (13) of 2005, to replace the former Ministry of Public Health. The Decision defined the main target of establishing the NHA in providing the highest possible health care to match the best in the world.

The NHA licenses physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and a range of allied health practitioners.

Allied health practitioners include but are not limited to psychologists, opticians, chiropractors, audiologists, paramedics, podiatrists, speech therapists, midwives, physiotherapists, dieticians, dental hygenists, and medical technicians. The NHA expands the types of allied health professions it licenses as new areas develop and are needed in Qatar.

Note that the NHA only licenses private health practitioners. It does not license health practitioners employed by the government

Illegal
It is illegal to work as a physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist or allied health practitioner without a license. It is also illegal to employ an unlicensed health practitioner, and both the owners and managers of health care organizations are liable. Offenders can be prosecuted through Qatar's courts of law.

The maximum punishment is as follows:
Three years imprisonment
Fine of QR 10,000

NHA Examination Details
According to NHA physician is someone who practices human biological medicine and holds a primary  medical degree, such as an MBBS or MBChB.
In some countries (most notably the UK, India, and Pakistan), the term physician means a  specialist in internal medicine. However, the NHA uses a broader definition: the term  physician applies to all medical doctors.

Basic Qualification
All examinees must have a primary degree like MBBS, BDS etc. (BHMS  will also be  included soon since active discussions are going on )
A graduate degree in medicine is obtained after a primary (or undergraduate) medical degree.

Examination fee
The examination fee is QR 100, and it is not refundable.
The fee must be paid each time the examinee sits an examination.
The examination fee can only be made in-person at the cashier located on the ground floor of  the NHA office building during NHA working hours (7:30-noon).

Centre of Exam
The location of the written examination varies, so be sure you confirm the location of the  written examination when you pick up your examination ticket. You will be informed of the  time and place of your oral examination once you have passed the written examination.

On examination day
On the day of your written examination, you should bring the following:
• Two pencils. They should both be HB type 2 pencils
• An eraser
• Your examination ticket
• Identification: only a Qatar ID card or passport are acceptable

On the day of the oral exam you should bring the following:
• Your examination ticket
• Identification: only a Qatar ID card or passport are acceptable

Examination ticket
Each examinee is provided with an examination ticket that confirms his or her eligibility to sit  an examination. It is an official NHA paper that provides the examinee name and photo and  the examination type the examinee will write. It also confirms the time and location of the examination.

Results
Examination results are posted on the NHA website by examinee number (rather than name)  for the privacy of examinees.

If you fail the written component of the examination and wish to try again, submit proof of  payment of another exam fee to the NHA Licensing Department and indicate your wish to re-  sit the exam.
If you pass the written part of the exam and fail the oral part of the examination, you must re-  sit the written examination again before taking a second oral examination.

Number of attempts
Yes. Examinees are only permitted to sit the examination three times.

Website of NHA : http://www.nha.org.qa/index.jsp

Question or Comments
E-mail : info@nha.org.qa
Phon: 4437111
P.O.box :42

Applying for job
E-mail : recruitment@nha.org.qa
Fax : 4364316

Department Of Medical Offices Abroad ( In Qatar )
SHK.Hamad Bin Thamer Al-Thani
Director Of Medical Offices Abroad
Mobile : +974 1 552777
TEL: +974 4391061 / 4315582
FAX: +974 4414881
P.O .Box : 42 - Doha- Qatar

Source :
Department of Medical Office abroad. Govt. of Qatar
National Health Authority. Qatar