qatar healthcare | special section
Qatar’s private clinics handle a significant traffic of day-care patients. (Image courtesy Aster Healthcare)
distributors (pharmacies, drug shops, and pharmaceutical distributors); health management organisations (insurance companies and other risk-pooling entities; and manufacturing entities (manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, medical equipment, and biosciences).
Competition
With the number of private healthcare clinics, business is competitive in terms of the service segments and the price that people have to pay for the services, and according to Dr. Moopan in the past few years the number of private healthcare providers and healthcare centres has increased across Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. “There are a lot of outpatient clinics in the private sector,” he says, adding that there is a huge gap in regard to the need for hospital beds in Qatar. “The number of hospitals in Qatar needs to be increased. According to the current population count and World Health Organization (WHO) standards, the current deficit in hospital beds in Qatar is approximately 3000 beds. By 2022, there will be a rise in population, thereby the demand for healthcare would be on a rise.” Abugheith adds that healthcare spending per capita is expected to remain high, driven by outpatient services, higher awareness levels and overconsumption patterns. This growth will be driven by a combination of an increasing incidence of chronic lifestyle diseases, a growing ageing population, high purchasing power, low inflation, substantial government 84 | The Edge
budgetary allocation to the sector and an increasing volume of patient encounters. This means that the healthcare sector has huge potential to grow in the near future.
Pricing and PPP possibilities
Private healthcare is often deemed expensive the world over since it does not have the subsidies that the public healthcare sector can bank on. Dr Moopan says that there are three levels of pricing in case of the private sector of healthcare. “The majority of the healthcare is priced at an average level. The newcomers in the health industry are priced at minimal costs. Very few medical centres are priced at a level that’s considered expensive.” Dr. Moopan feels that public-private partnership is the future for any country. “In Dubai, DM Healthcare has tied up with the Dubai Health Authority (DHA). Aster looks into health education in association with DHA. There are lots of activities that can be done by such a tie up.” In case of Qatar, Dr. Moopan says that initially the SCH had planned for something similar, in tie up with private healthcare providers, to provide for the single male expatriate labourers by setting up hospitals. “The private healthcare centres had bid for the same and they are waiting for the further proceedings. Two hospitals and four medical centres were set up by the government in various regions with regard to this planning, which is now undertaken by Red Crescent and similar organisations.”
3000 The current deficit of hospital beds Qatar, according to WHO standards.