HMC announces changes to outpatient services

Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has announced changes from Sunday (January 2, 2022) to its outpatient services in response to the recent increase in Covid-19 cases in Qatar. The changes have been made to protect patients, visitors and staff from Covid-19, it was explained in a statement. According to the revised schedule, 50% of outpatient appointments will be delivered via telemedicine consultations and the rest as in-person consultations. Patients receiving telemedicine outpatient consultations are asked to not come into the hospital for their appointment. The physician will telephone the patient on the day of the appointment to deliver the consultation. If the doctor decides that the patient needs a follow-up in-person consultation, the doctor will arrange this, and the patient will be informed by the clinic. All HMC facilities have in place strict safety and prevention protocols and a new visitor policy has been implemented to protect patients, visitors and staff within its facilities. HMC stated that its emergency departments and Ambulance Service remain operational 24 hours a day and reminded members of the community to only use these services for medical emergencies. HMC’s virtual Urgent Care Service is available to support patients with non-life-threatening conditions by calling 16000, from 7am to 3pm, Sunday to Thursday.