by ELHAM POURMOHAMMADI/elham@timesofoman.com
Source: http://www.timesofoman.com/article/74784/Oman/Health/Inspections-start-as-soon-as-an-application-is-made-to-open-a-clinic-and-continue-throughout-the-lif
Muscat: Private dental clinics in Oman are under
constant supervision to ensure best services and care for the patients,
an official at the Ministry of Health (MoH) has said.
Inspections
start as soon as an application is made to open a clinic and continue
throughout the life of the clinic, said Dr Hamood Al Harthy, head of
section, Directorate of Evaluation and Licensing of Private Health
Establishments, Directorate General of Private Health Establishments
(DGPHE).
“When an application is made for obtaining a license, it
is sent to a special committee for initial approval. Then, the DGPHE
follows as per a step-by-step procedure before issuing a license for the
facility and the healthcare professionals,” Al Harthy, who is a
specialist in dental surgery, told the Times of Oman.
A primary
inspection is done and the applicant has to meet all the requirements
and provide all information related to the facility and the staff, the
official said.
He added that the directorate general works
closely with the municipalities, the Ministry of Manpower, the Royal
Oman Police (ROP) and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry when it
comes to issuing a permit.
According to the latest statistics,
around 737 dentists and specialists are working at about 500 private
dental clinics in the Sultanate.
Surprise visits
Al
Harthy noted that some of the inspections are scheduled while some are
carried out unannounced. The surprise checks are actually preferred as
most of the violations are caught during such checks.
“Around 70 per cent of the violations are related to patient’s safety and infection control,” he added.
Asked
if the directorate general also supervises the prices of dental
healthcare services at clinics, the official said that it mainly falls
within the ambit of the responsibilities of the Public Authority for
Consumer Protection.
“We do not get involved unless there is a huge disparity between the services and the prices,” Al Harthy explained.
‘Reasonable’ costs
The
official said in his opinion, the dental care services in Oman are
priced at a ‘reasonable’ level in general though it depends on the
service provider, location of the clinic and some other factors.
He
stated that one of the directorate’s responsibilities is to monitor the
service providers and make sure that specialized services are provided
only by the specialists.
“We also review the price lists to make
sure that the services provided by the facility are within the scope of
such service providers and try to make sure that the Arabic translation
of the services in the facility’s price list matches with the English
version,” he added.
Increasing frequency
In
addition, Al Harthy said that DGPHE works in collaboration with the
directorates of private health establishments in the regions to ensure
that inspections are carried out more frequently.
“The number of
private dental facilities is almost double the number of the dental
clinics in the government health facilities,” he said, adding that DGPHE
has now three directorates, concerning quality, licensing facilities
and licensing manpower.
There are Continuous Professional Development Programmes to upgrade the staff, Al Harthy stated.
Asked
about the performance and progress of Omanis in the field of dental
practice, he said many government dental facilities are manned by
Omanis.
However, the number of nationals is not very high in the
private sector as many graduates prefer to start their career in the
public sector to gain some experience, he added.
Private sector
Al
Harthy believes that there is a need to strengthen the private sector
in this field as the demand for private sector facilities is growing and
many patients want to avoid long queues in government facilities.
Some
services are currently only available at government facilities, he
said, expressing the hope that such services will become available in
the private sector as well.
The official also said that there is a
need for more specialized educational institutes and training centres
to complement the existing programmes at the Sultan Qaboos University
and Oman Medical Specialty Board.
Insurance
Commenting
on the fact that dental treatment costs are not covered by insurance,
he said it would be good if a decision is made to include them in
insurance schemes as some may avoid seeking treatment because of the
costs.
Al Harthy said that according to his personal experience, oral diseases are one of the most common problems afflicting Omanis.
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