Starting February 1, the fees will be increased for 212 health services provided by the Ministry of Health (MoH).
These services include tests for Seasonal Flu, CCHF (Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic fever, Elisa Test, measles, among others.
Fees will also be hiked for tests for various fevers, and communicable and non-communicable diseases for expatriates as well as citizens.
Dr Mazin Jawad al Khabouri, Director-General of Private Health Establishments, MoH, said the number of hours the staff spend, the technology involved and other costs involved in providing medical services have shot up. “The revised fee structure is a true reflection of the services provided by the ministry staff.” As per the Ministerial Decision No 239/2018, employees in the private sector will have to pay RO 30 as medical test fee for obtaining the resident card.
Omanis will have to pay RO 20 as medical examination fee if they are marrying abroad.
Expatriates have to pay RO 2 for attestation of a medical certificate brought from abroad. The cost of services, including deposits on admission in government hospitals, ambulance charges, vaccination fees, permits to import medication, and permits to establish private hospitals, clinics and pharmacies will also see a rise.
The fee for issuing an experience certificate for non-Omani medical and medical assistant has been hiked to RO 20.
Licence fee for assistant medical professions for non-Omanis, except for the pharmaceutical profession, has been fixed at RO 100.
“When we grant permission to open a hospital, we go through the file, papers and drawings sent to DG of engineering, patient floors, proper piping, gas piping, radiation leakage, biological safety, infection control, and physical inspection of the premises. These procedures take a lot of time and effort. We charge RO 500 for the service while a private company will charge a huge sum,” Dr Mazin said.
This article originally appeared on: http://www.omanobserver.om/fee-hike-for-212-health-services-from-feb-1/
