Doha: In its efforts to maintain exceptional healthcare standards, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has agreed with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) to renew the Substantive Equivalency of Qatar’s National Continuing Medical Education (CME) / Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program to the Royal College’s Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program for a period of five more years, starting January 1.
The substantial equivalency will allow members and fellows of the Royal College, who are living and practicing in the State of Qatar, to use their participation in Qatar’s National CME/CPD program to maintain their membership / Fellowship with the Royal College in Canada without having to additionally participate in the Royal College’s MOC program, during the five-year period.
The extension of the agreement recognizes the remarkable collaboration between the Department of Healthcare Professions – Accreditation Section (DHP-AS) of the Ministry and the RCPSC and highlights the quality of the National CME/CPD Program, as it was reached following a meticulous, professional, not-for-profit assessment of the program requirements, policies and procedures.
It is worth mentioning that DHP-AS has other mutual credit recognition agreements with the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Academy for Family Physicians (AAFP). In addition, Qatar’s National CPD accreditation system is recognized as substantially equivalent to the accreditation systems of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), of the United States of America.
Such agreements enable the DHP-AS to ensure the quality of its regulatory and accreditation standards and promote the provision of superior, internationally recognized CME/CPD for healthcare practitioners, which, in turn, assures the people of Qatar that healthcare practitioners working in the country are competent and provide their patients with the best and safest care.
