Doha: The latest medical findings concerning COVID-19 indicate that effects of the virus on people with certain types of chronic diseases are not different than its effects on other people, said a senior health official yesterday.
People with conditions such as controlled diabetes and hypertension are not at a high risk of developing complications if they contract COVID-19 virus, said Medical Director of Hamad General Hospital, Dr. Yousef Al Maslamani.
“Since March 2020 we have a list of patients with chronic diseases who are at high risk of developing complications if they contract COVID-19. We continue to monitor about the latest developments. Recent data reflects that effects of COVID-19 virus on patients with certain types of chronic diseases, for example controlled diabetes and hypertension, are at same level as on other people,” Dr. Al Maslamani told The Peninsula.
Therefore committees from the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), and Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) have reviewed the list of patients with chronic diseases.
According to Dr. Al Maslamani, patients with chronic diseases who receive care at HMC or PHCC facilities and meet the new criteria for obtaining chronic condition certificates can now request these certificates through the ‘MyHealth’ patient portal.
The data of patients who meet the criteria for obtaining chronic condition certificates have been stored this week on the electronic health information system at HMC and PHCC.
“The latest chronic diseases list includes a long list of conditions, therefore patients should log into the ‘MyHealth’ portal, press document and get chronic condition certificates,” said Dr. Al Maslamani.
“The document will be available only for those eligible in the new criteria. If the document is not found, it means they aren’t included in the chronic condition criteria,” he added.
Dr. Al Maslamani also emphasised that the chronic condition certificates will contain a barcode indicating the name of the patient and their Qatar ID number and will be officially accepted by all authorities in the country.
Patients who receive care at HMC or PHCC and have a valid health card can also request chronic condition certificates through an online request form available on the PHCC or HMC websites from today. The certificates will be prepared and emailed to patients within seven days of submitting the application.
To mention, people with chronic medical conditions are more likely to develop severe symptoms if they get COVID-19. To help them to stay safe, the Ministry of Public Health has developed a set of COVID-19 educational materials on diabetes, heart disease, asthma, cancer and many other conditions.
The Ministry has also insisted to follow preventive measures to reduce the risk of infection, including sticking to physical distancing guidelines.
