Health ministry signs pact with Ooredoo

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and Ooredoo have signed an agreement to provide an electronic system for the control of communicable diseases and the registration of vaccination for both children and adults in Qatar.
The agreement was inked by HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari and Ooredoo Group chairman HE Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani recently.
All health facilities in the state will be connected with the MoPH through the electronic system, which will allow for the reporting of cases of communicable diseases and the registration of vaccinations, taking into account the full confidentiality of patients, the ministry has said in a statement.
Implementation of the system will take places in two phases. The first will link the electronic system with existing certified electronic medical records in all government health facilities, while the second will connect other private and quasi-governmental health centres to the system. The aim of providing such a connection is to both monitor and control the spread of communicable diseases and to ensure registration of vaccinations, the statement notes.
HE Dr al-Kuwari explained that the electronic system would help strengthen the capability of the MoPH to effectively monitor, manage and respond to health challenges, providing daily and weekly data on high-priority diseases in order to be able to take necessary preventative measures in a timely manner to maintain the health of the population. The system will also allow the identification of vaccination patterns, consumption rates and vaccine stocks in the country.
She stressed that the strengthening of health protection in Qatar is a key priority identified in the National Health Strategy, to ensure the provision of healthy living and working conditions for citizens and residents, and enable the prevention of communicable diseases and disease epidemics.
The electronic system will contribute to both aspects of healthcare in Qatar, as well as work towards the national strategic goal of developing and implementing real-time systems to ensure compliance with international health regulations for monitoring and responding to medical issues. This includes support for the preparation for mass events in Qatar such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
On his part, HE Sheikh Abdulla said: “We are delighted to collaborate with the Ministry of Public Health through this partnership agreement, in which we will provide the Department of Health Protection and Communicable Diseases with innovative and sophisticated solutions that will enable the collection, analysis and interpretation of data on communicable diseases.
“This data will be used in the planning, implementation and evaluation of public health policies and practices in Qatar, in particular with regard to the prevention and eradication of such diseases. We hope that through this co-operation, we will help achieve the national strategic goals for health, as part of Qatar National Vision 2030.
“This partnership is in line with our strategy, through which we are committed to supporting and developing sectors of society and serving its members. We consider public health to be one of the most important sectors of our society, and we are proud to be able to play a role in its development. We are delighted with this partnership and we look forward to being able to make a positive contribution that helps maintain public health for our community.”
The new national electronic system for the control of communicable diseases and the registration of vaccinations in Qatar is one of several important projects contributing towards the implementation of the national strategy for electronic health and data management, the statement adds.
The e-system contributes to a number of key health objectives: improving the functioning of the public health service system for basic services, improving the ministry’s ability to collect health information to meet future needs of the community and the population, and ensuring the public health service is capable of meeting any challenges and mitigating any consequences.