Saudi dentists' bid to bite into Bahraini market sparks dispute |
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BAHRAIN: Doctors in Bahrain have taken exception to the advertisements placed by Saudi dental clinics in a local magazine. They have termed the ads as illegal and unfair. The doctors are now calling for a law that would prohibit medical advertisements by neighboring countries in local dailies and magazines.
"I personally feel that it is not proper to place such ads in magazines. The treatment is a long process and is not practical when taken in a foreign land," Dr. Raja Hasan Kadhem, head of the Oral and Dental Services of Primary Health Care at the Ministry of HealthMinistry of Health
, told Arab News.
Ads by Saudi dentists in Bahraini magazines are a regular feature. Patients are promised faster treatment at cheaper rates compared with the medical fee charged in Bahrain. Some ads even mention contact details inviting patients to give missed calls so that they may be contacted by the clinics in Saudi Arabia.
Officials at the Health MinistryHealth Ministry in Bahrain were recently informed about such ads in a local magazine.
Doctors say some tooth treatments require more than one sitting session and patients have to travel to Saudi Arabia for the treatment. "What would happen in emergency cases if the patient is in no position to travel to Saudi Arabia?" asked Dr. Kadhem.
She said the licensure office along with experts at the Health MinistryHealth Ministry were studying the legality of this practice, but said they have not found a valid reason to declare such ads illegal.
Dr. Kadhem, who also heads the Bahrain Dental Society, said the advertisements by Saudi doctors would not affect Bahraini dentists "as they have already built their reputation."
© Arab News 2009
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