More than 150 physicians, nurses and allied healthcare professionals attended a seminar on the impact of legislation on the delivery of healthcare in Qatar, held at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q).
The event saw speakers discuss the implications of new and amended legislation relating to privacy and personal data protection, employee sponsorship and the delivery of mental healthcare services.
Opening speaker Kelly Tymburski, a partner at Denton’s law firm, spoke about Law No. 13 of 2016 concerning privacy and protection of personal data, announced in November 2016.
Tymburski said that the new law requires data collectors to disclose the purposes for which data is being collected, the parties that will be involved in processing activities, and the manner of processing.
Additionally, participants of the one-day event learnt that data controllers must limit their collection and retention of personal data to that which is relevant and necessary to achieve the purposes for which it was collected.
Kamaljit Dosanjh, senior associate at Al Tamimi & Company, discussed the changes to Qatar’s sponsorship laws and the likely impact on the healthcare workforce.
Law No. 21 of 2015 superseded the Kafala system with the intention of making it more straightforward for employees to switch jobs and leave the country.
Dr Suhaila Ghuloum, senior consultant at the Psychiatry Department at Hamad Medical Corporation, spoke about “Qatar’s Mental Health Law and Impact on Healthcare Delivery”.
She discussed legislation relating to training of healthcare professionals involved in mental healthcare delivery, compulsory admission of patients, and the role of families in mental healthcare treatment.
The presentations were followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session moderated by Dr Sunanda Holmes, associate university counsel & assistant professor of Healthcare Policy and Research at WCM-Q.