Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners Circular No. 13/2021

Update on Standards of Acupuncture Registration/Licensing in the State of Qatar

From

Department of Healthcare Professions (DHP)\Ministry of Public Health (MOPH)

To

All Acupuncture Practitioners in Qatar (Governmental & Private sector)

All Healthcare Facilities/focal points in the state of Qatar (Governmental & Private sector)

Subject

Update on Standards of Acupuncture Registration/Licensing in the State of Qatar

Date

16 November 2021

Greetings from the Specialized Committee for Complementary Medicine (SCCM),

In MoPH’s pursuit to raise the standards of healthcare practitioners registration/licensing, and to adopt an integrative approach to complementary medicine in Qatar, the SCCM has approved new updates on the Acupuncture regulatory framework.

The SCCM has adopted the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), which distinguishes between the required Acupuncture training for physicians and healthcare practitioners, and other practitioners who do not have a health/medical background. The Committee approved the requirements shown in the table below, taking into consideration the health system in the country:

Category

Academic Qualification/Training

Clinical Experience

Acupuncture Practitioner without health/medical background

An academic program of no less than 2500 theoretical and practical hours of study

Two years

Physician/Dentist limited to Acupuncture