16/05/2023

Healthcare Professional License handover ceremony

282 doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives at Setthathirath hospital and additional new 37 nurses licensed

The Ministry of Health held a Healthcare Professional License handover ceremony for 282 healthcare professionals including medical doctors, dentists, nurses, and midwives at Setthathirath Hospital and additional new 37 nurses on December 16, 2022. 

Lao Healthcare Professional Council (HPC) president Prof. Dr. Ponmek Dalaloy, former Lao Minister of Health Prof. Dr. Bounkhong Sihavong and senior representatives of HPC presented licenses to representatives of 119 medical doctors, 21 dentists, 109 nurses and 22 midwives at the hospital. Additionally, participating at the ceremony at the venue and online was a cohort of new nurses who successfully passed the National Examination and then completed the 12-month Professional Internship Program, a first for Lao PDR.

Lao PDR applied its policy on registration and licensing in 2016 with regulations stipulating necessary procedures to verify healthcare professionals’ fitness to practice. The policy included the instruction on registration and licensing for healthcare professionals who were inducted before 2020 prior to the introduction of the national examination (No. 0182/HPC, October 2019). It also outlined the instruction on registration and licensing (No. 0108/HPC, November 2021) for more recent graduates.

Commencing with the issuing of licenses for healthcare professionals at Vientiane’s Children’s hospital in 2020, HPC has been collaborating with each medical institution’s committee to license healthcare professionals in central hospitals/institutions and provinces.

Healthcare professionals are required to renew licenses every five years to fulfill continuing professional development (CPD) requirements. This system ensures health professionals’ capacity to serve within the scope, standard and code of ethics to provide safe and quality healthcare services to the population in Laos adhering to the Ministry's "five goods, one satisfaction" policy nationally. The system contributes to a robust regulatory system in which Lao PDR, as an ASEAN member state, facilitates the mobility of healthcare professionals such as medical doctors, dentists, and nurses within the region under mutual recognition arrangements.

Several development partners supported the establishment of the accreditation system, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Ambassador of Japan to Lao PDR Mr. Kenichi Kobayashi, WHO representative to Lao PDR Dr. Ying-Ru Jacqueline Lo and JICA Laos chief representative Mr. Toshio Nagase each congratulated the leadership and commended the efforts of the Lao Ministry of Health as reaching another milestone in health system development to ensure the quality of healthcare services in Laos.