SCH Medical licensing unit to be linked with counterparts

DOHA: The Medical Licensing Department at the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) is planning to link itself electronically to its counterparts in other countries to speed up licensing procedures in Qatar. The department recently made it mandatory for all healthcare professionals seeking a licence to practise in Qatar to produce a Certificate of Good Standing from regulatory authorities in the country where they last worked.

“We have been facing a delay in the delivery of these certificates, which in turn delays the licensing procedures here. To address this issue, we are now exploring ways to link our department with similar authorities in other countries,” Dr Jamal Rashid Al Khanji, director of the department, told The Peninsula yesterday.

He said the Certificate of Good Standing had been made mandatory to ensure that only practitioners with a clean track record were allowed to practise in the country.