The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) launched on Thursday evening the electronic platform: Qatar Cancer Information Center QCIC, in the presence of a group of specialists and academics from Qatar and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Qatar Cancer Information Center is the national cancer information reference in Qatar and aims to ensure a comprehensive governance system for cancer information, communicate between all relevant institutions and individuals, and provide high-quality, up-to-date and reliable information on cancer, and support cancer planning and policy-making by building on reliable and scientific data, promoting knowledge sharing and improving resources through networking and information.
In his speech, Dr. Saleh Ali Al Marri, Assistant Minister of Public Health for Health Affairs, stressed the importance of developing cancer services in Qatar and the impact on society, explaining that (MoPH), in cooperation with public and private sector institutions, has developed strategic plans to achieve this goal through the First National Cancer Strategy 2011-2016 and the National Cancer Framework 2017-2022, noting that QCIC is one of its important outcomes.
“QCSC will work to raise awareness of the disease and build bridges between healthcare providers and researchers to ensure the advancement of health services for cancer patients. He also thanked the staff of the National Cancer Program at (MoPH) and all those working in the cancer services sector from HMC, PHCC, Sidra Medicine and the private sector, as well as the Qatari Red Crescent and the Qatar Cancer Society for their medical and community efforts towards cancer patients.”
Lord Ara Darzi, Chairman of the National Cancer Governance Council, said: “The Government of Qatar’s support and guidance for health strategies has paid off through the distinctive level of services for cancer patients in the country.” He also thanked Dr. Hanan Mohammed Al-Kuwari, Minister of Public Health, for her continued support for all cancer services in Qatar.
Dr. Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Director of the Department of Public Health at (MoPH), said Qatar attaches great importance to improving the health of Qatari society and achieving Qatar’s national vision 2030 goals. He also praised H.E. the Minister of Public Health’s support for national health strategies to achieve the goals of developing the country’s health services systems. He also stressed that (MoPH) is working continuously to raise health services to the highest levels of global assessment, through the development of national plans and programs for various health sectors, including cancer.
The Director of the Department of Public Health explained that QCFC will be an important reference for every researcher, health care provider and community member, and will ensure constant monitoring of cancer information to preserve the patient’s rights. He thanked the members of the National Cancer Programme and all those who participated in the establishment of the important center.
On this occasion, His Excellency Dr. Sheikh Khalid bin Jabr Al Thani, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Qatar Cancer Society, expressed his happiness to participate in the opening of QCIC, praising the essential role and efforts led by the National Cancer Program under the umbrella of (MoPH) in Qatar in the field of cancer control, praising the continued cooperation between the Association and the National Cancer Program in several areas, most notably the unified national initiatives to raise cancer awareness, and build the capacity of health workers through the field of health sector, through continuing medical education programs, as well as cooperation in the field of Qatar National Cancer Plan 2023-2025 and also collaborating with the National Cancer Registry in Qatar and sharing with them the information of cancer registry data as well as with Qatar Cancer Network.
Mr. Ameed Abu Hamidan, Director of the National Cancer Registry at (MoPH), also gave a detailed presentation on QCIC ‘s online platform, explaining that the center is based on three axes:
• The Cancer Information Governance Board, made up of a group of specialists including cybersecurity specialists, human rights specialists, epidemiologists as well as a group of doctors from various disciplines in the field of cancer treatment. The Board develops all policies related to the protection of cancer information, including three electronic services, namely, data requests from the Qatar National Cancer Registry, a document review service used in cancer awareness campaigns, a cancer records documentation service to increase its efficiency and ensure that patient information is confidential.
• Developing Qatar’s National Cancer Register by developing a modern electronic platform that allows the Qatar’s health sector to report cancer cases easily and scientifically, linking the platform to statistical programs that provide researchers and doctors with information on cancer rates periodically and mechanically and without having to go back to the management of the register, and cover cancer information to include all stages from early detection to diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and palliative treatment. In addition to developing the register to qualify it to receive personal medicine data on the genetic composition of patients. Establish a register of early detection data and link it to the cancer rate register. The content of the data has been increased to most of them to be fully compliant with global specifications and regulations, which will allow for further comparative studies regarding the incidence of the disease.
• Establishing a cancer information network, the principle of the network is based on the membership of all cancer workers in all their centers and specialties and connecting them to each other to learn about the activities, research and expertise available in the country. The network is a success story for the cancer services sector and is the only one of its kind in the Arab region. The Cancer Information Network will allow all sectors working in cancer services to be linked to increase efficiency through the network’s components: member manual, research laboratories, job bank, events and activities, opportunities to finance scientific research, the dialogue forum and research capabilities, as well as a call for cooperation, a special service that allows the member to appeal to all members with a specific competence for the need for it in a project.
Source: Ministry of Public Health