Qatar's National CME/CPD System: A tool to ensure Health and Patient safety
Authors: Aboulsoud Samar , Hussain Ayesha , Al-Kuwari Aisha Nasser 
Published: June 2019

Background: The national CME/CPD framework provides learning opportunities to HCPs to upgrade their competencies. All licensed HCPs in Qatar are required to complete CPD cycle requirements to maintain their licensure. Quality improvement and safe patient care being main objectives of the CME/CPD program, quality improvement activities are given due consideration in the CME/CPD framework. Summary of Work: This work provides a review of National CME/CPD framework to identify the learning opportunities it provides to HCPs to improve their professional practice. The review results were analyzed how these contribute to quality improvement in patient care programs within the healthcare sector in Qatar. Results: The CME/CPD framework of Qatar provides diverse educational opportunities to HCPs organized under Group-learning, self-directed and assessment activities to improve their professional practice. The CME/CPD framework recognizes the participation of HCPs in quality projects and research relevant to their practice for upto 10 credits per project/activities that can be recorded under self-directed learning. The ePortfolio indicates that the HCPs are actively participating in the quality projects. Discussion: The CPD framework provides plenty of learning opportunities to improve professional competencies that are expected from HCPs and links learning to its impact on healthcare outcomes. Engaging in quality improvement projects supports new ideas, unfamiliar situations, changing roles and making the most productive use of resources including people, time, information, networks and budgets. The framework not only helps the HCPs to set targets of high priority, practical, achievable and challenging aspects of CPD rather encourages them to recognize and take advantage of the opportunities that arise from their day-to-day work experience and unexpected challenges. The quality projects are reviewed and monitored for the outcomes and remedial actions are intervened wherever necessary, these are considered significant means of enhancing the effectiveness of quality projects. The quality improvement projects helps the HCPs in their research about safety and quality issues which is the foundation for evidence-based processes of, identifying areas for improvement for change, helps reduce risks pertaining to delivery of care. The CPD framework also provides opportunities to HCPs for research work and clinical audits that ensures quality improvement and practice. This is done against their development plans that can be measured in terms of either new or improved competence. Conclusions: The National CME/CPD framework for all HCPs with diverse learning opportunities. CME/CPD framework meets the current challenges of healthcare community like evidence-based learning, research that enhance an understanding and commitment to organizational values. Quality and system improvement are core to patient safety, which improve the skills of the HCPs that form robust primary healthcare teams delivering quality and safe patient-care. The HCPs learn time, process, team and self-management from the QI projects they are engaged in and this impacts the outcomes of patient-care they deliver. It emphasizes on the importance of QI and encourages active participation of HCPs in QI projects/activities. Take home message: Quality improvement tools help HCPs understand the actual trends, patterns of their work and mapping process, monitoring and finding solutions and self-development that will improve the quality of care.