In the context of the continued efforts to tighten control on the overseas medical treatment file by the Ministry of Health, the numbers continued on a downward trajectory which started since 2015, reports Al-Rai daily. According to official statistics, the number of cases of overseas medical treatment during the first six months of this year reached 2,238 from January 1, 2022 to July 1, 2022. Informed sources explained that the number would not exceed 4,500 cases by the end of this year, even though it had reached 4,702 last year.

The number of cases decreased by about 50 percent during the past seven years, as the figures provided in the statistic as follows:

■ 2,238 within six months of 2022.

■ 4,702 during the year 2021.

■ 161 during the year 2020 (due to the COVID-19 circumstances).

■ 5,564 during the year 2019.

■ 6,837 during the year 2018.

■ 7,024 during the year 2017.

■ 9,234 during the year 2016.

■ 9,356 during the year 2015. In a related context, the Ministry of Health banned health offices abroad from dealing through an intermediary or an agent. In this regard, informed sources explained that the competencies of health offices abroad, according to the new ministry structure, include selecting health institutions, hospitals and health centers with a good reputation in accordance with the standards set for this purpose, and following up the implementation of contracts and memoranda of understanding with health service providers in the country where the headquarters are located, provided that the contract is directly signed with the relevant institutions.

It is prohibited to deal with an intermediary, irrespective of whether this intermediary is an individual or a company. Access to integrated health care must be enabled for citizens receiving treatment abroad, and related procedures must be facilitated in accordance with the policies and controls regulating the overseas medical treatment file.

© 2022 Arab Times Kuwait English Daily. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).