Doha, July 01 (QNA) - HE Minister of Public Health Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al Mahmoud inaugurated the first forum on regulating healthcare in the private sector yesterday (Monday), organized by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH). In his opening address, His Excellency stressed the importance of enhancing the role of the private healthcare sector in Qatar, highlighting how it is one of the key objectives of the Ministry of Public Health. His Excellency said that "this inaugural forum on regulating private healthcare marks a significant milestone that contributes to strengthening the private sector’s role and exploring the proposals of its representatives, recognising them as partners in the development of Qatar’s health sector." His Excellency emphasised that the Ministry of Public Health’s approach is to strengthen its strong relationship with the private sector and to maintain continuous communication to address challenges. This also involves seeking the views of private sector representatives on draft legislation to maximise the benefit of their insights. Participants in the forum included representatives from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI), as well as private hospitals, centres, clinics, dental centres, pharmacies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers in the State of Qatar. The forum comes as part of efforts to enhance the role of the private healthcare sector in Qatar. It aims to deepen integration and partnership between the public and private health sectors, support collaboration in delivering health services, enhance the quality of care, encourage and create investment opportunities in the private sector, ensure its involvement in decision-making, and overcome challenges faced by healthcare providers by developing practical solutions. The forum serves as an important platform to promote cooperation and exchange expertise between the public and private sectors, reinforcing a shared commitment to improving the quality of healthcare services by offering patients more options, encouraging competition, and attracting investment to the health sector. The forum also reflects the future aspirations for Qatar’s health sector to further increase the effective participation of private healthcare providers in achieving universal health coverage, by offering a diverse range of high-quality services and facilities, thus giving patients more options when choosing healthcare providers. Additionally, the forum reviewed governance within the health sector, the application of international best practices in engaging the private sector to build human capacity, the development of health services, and the formulation of a comprehensive health policy that ensures all stakeholders, including the private health sector, are involved in the decision-making. The Ministry of Public Health remains committed to supporting the private health sector and working to expand its contribution to the delivery of high-quality healthcare services across the State of Qatar. (QNA)