Dental clinics in Oman under scanner to ensure better services

Muscat: Private dental clinics in Oman are under constant supervision to ensure best services and care for the patients, an official at the Ministry of Health (MoH) has said.
Inspections start as soon as an application is made to open a clinic and continue throughout the life of the clinic, said Dr Hamood Al Harthy, head of section, Directorate of Evaluation and Licensing of Private Health Establishments, Directorate General of Private Health Establishments (DGPHE).
“When an application is made for obtaining a license, it is sent to a special committee for initial approval. Then, the DGPHE follows as per a step-by-step procedure before issuing a license for the facility and the healthcare professionals,” Al Harthy, who is a specialist in dental surgery, told the Times of Oman.
A primary inspection is done and the applicant has to meet all the requirements and provide all information related to the facility and the staff, the official said.
He added that the directorate general works closely with the municipalities, the Ministry of Manpower, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry when it comes to issuing a permit.
According to the latest statistics, around 737 dentists and specialists are working at about 500 private dental clinics in the Sultanate.
Surprise visits
Al Harthy noted that some of the inspections are scheduled while some are carried out unannounced. The surprise checks are actually preferred as most of the violations are caught during such checks.
“Around 70 per cent of the violations are related to patient’s safety and infection control,” he added.
Asked if the directorate general also supervises the prices of dental healthcare services at clinics, the official said that it mainly falls within the ambit of the responsibilities of the Public Authority for Consumer Protection.
“We do not get involved unless there is a huge disparity between the services and the prices,” Al Harthy explained.
‘Reasonable’ costs
The official said in his opinion, the dental care services in Oman are priced at a ‘reasonable’ level in general though it depends on the service provider, location of the clinic and some other factors.
He stated that one of the directorate’s responsibilities is to monitor the service providers and make sure that specialized services are provided only by the specialists.
“We also review the price lists to make sure that the services provided by the facility are within the scope of such service providers and try to make sure that the Arabic translation of the services in the facility’s price list matches with the English version,” he added.
Increasing frequency
In addition, Al Harthy said that DGPHE works in collaboration with the directorates of private health establishments in the regions to ensure that inspections are carried out more frequently.
“The number of private dental facilities is almost double the number of the dental clinics in the government health facilities,” he said, adding that DGPHE has now three directorates, concerning quality, licensing facilities and licensing manpower.
There are Continuous Professional Development Programmes to upgrade the staff, Al Harthy stated.
Asked about the performance and progress of Omanis in the field of dental practice, he said many government dental facilities are manned by Omanis.
However, the number of nationals is not very high in the private sector as many graduates prefer to start their career in the public sector to gain some experience, he added.
Private sector
Al Harthy believes that there is a need to strengthen the private sector in this field as the demand for private sector facilities is growing and many patients want to avoid long queues in government facilities.
Some services are currently only available at government facilities, he said, expressing the hope that such services will become available in the private sector as well.
The official also said that there is a need for more specialized educational institutes and training centres to complement the existing programmes at the Sultan Qaboos University and Oman Medical Specialty Board.
Insurance
Commenting on the fact that dental treatment costs are not covered by insurance, he said it would be good if a decision is made to include them in insurance schemes as some may avoid seeking treatment because of the costs.
Al Harthy said that according to his personal experience, oral diseases are one of the most common problems afflicting Omanis.