(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Healthcare practitioners must fulfil three mandatory requirements in order to get their licence renewed as part of the Continuing Medical Education and Continuing Professional Development (CME/CPD) accreditation system, which will be implemented from early 2016.
The system, participation in which will be mandatory for the issue and renewal of licences, is being put in place with the aim of ensuring better patient outcomes through fostering a culture of CME/CPD among health professionals.
Failure to comply with the mandatory requirements will invite penalties, including termination of registration and licence for non-compliance.
The Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners (QCHP) under the Supreme Council of Health has provided details of CME/CPD for health professionals.
The start date of the CPD cycle will be personalised with the practitioner to coincide with the date of licensure in Qatar. Each CPD cycle is of two years unless an extension is granted and the start date of an individual cycle will align with the date of licensure.
The QCHP accreditation department has listed three mandatory requirements for the CPD cycle, which all healthcare practitioners in the country have to complete. These are the annual CPD requirements, the CPD cycle requirements and category-specific requirements.
According to the annual CPD requirements, the practitioners must complete and document a minimum of 40 credits each year. The CPD cycle requirements stipulate that the practitioners complete and document a minimum of 80 credits every two years.
Under the third category, healthcare practitioners must complete and document at least 40 credits in category 1 and 40 credits in category 2 or 3 during each two-year CPD cycle.
Healthcare practitioners who fail to meet the minimum annual requirement of 40 credits will be notified by QCHP at the end of first year of non-adherence and will be provided information to seek assistance. All non-adherent participants will have to provide evidence of participation through a validation programme in the remaining year of the cycle.
Practitioners who fail to meet the requirement of 80 credit points by the end of the CPD cycle will have their registration and licence in Qatar terminated for non-compliance. However, an opportunity to appeal the termination of their licensure will be provided.
During the Annual Forum of the National Health Strategy (NHS) held recently, Dr Samar Aboulsoud, manager at the accreditation department of QCHP, said the programme is one of the key outputs of NHS Project 5.2.
She stressed that the CPD cycle is a continuous process that is central to maintaining competence and the output will ensure that the training and professional development of healthcare professionals in Qatar are of the highest level.
Once the CME/CPD framework is launched, all licensed healthcare professionals will be required to participate in CPD activities according to the policies and regulations of the accreditation department of QCHP.
When implemented, every healthcare practitioner is required to maintain an individual CPD activity record, which will constitute the person's CPD portfolio supported by documentary evidence such as the certificate of attendance of CPD activities, official letters and transcripts during the CPD cycle.
The practitioners should select their CPD activities on the basis of the learning needs of an individual practitioner, the context of the needs of their organisation, the needs of patients and personal learning preferences.
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