Oman

Healthcare System

Oman operates a predominantly public healthcare system built extensively during the Sultan Qaboos era (1970–2020), transforming from near-zero infrastructure to comprehensive national coverage. The Ministry of Health (MOH) operates the majority of hospitals, polyclinics, and health centers across all governorates. Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) is the main teaching and tertiary referral hospital. Private sector is growing, concentrated in Muscat. The DHAREEMA project is Oman's national health information system and coding standardization initiative, introducing structured clinical coding across MOH facilities. Oman has approximately 4.8M population (~40% expatriate).

System Type: Public-dominant with growing private sector and mandatory expatriate insurance
Regulatory Body: MOH (Ministry of Health) — primary regulator for all healthcare facilities, practitioners, and drugs. DGPA for pharmaceutical regulation. NCHI for health insurance (Dhamani scheme).
Data Protection: Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL, Royal Decree 6/2022). Health data classified as sensitive personal data. Data localization requirements for health data of Omani nationals. Oman Information Technology Authority (ITA) oversees data protection. Earlier than some Gulf peers in having a formal PDPL; comprehensive enforcement framework being developed.
Currency: OMR
Emergency Number: 9999 (Royal Oman Police — emergency dispatch including ambulance), 1099 (MOH 24-hour health hotline)
Languages: ar, en

Coding Systems

diagnosis

ICD-10 (WHO Edition)

MOH mandates ICD-10 WHO edition for all clinical coding in Oman. DHAREEMA initiative has standardized ICD-10 implementation across MOH facilities as of 2020–2023 rollout. Private hospitals predominantly use ICD-10 WHO; some use ICD-10-CM (US edition) for internationally trained physicians. For insurance billing, ICD-10 WHO is the standard.

procedures

DHAREEMA / CPT hybrid

Oman's DHAREEMA coding initiative adopted a hybrid procedure coding framework. Public MOH facilities: DHAREEMA procedure codes which are largely based on ICD-10-AM (Australian procedure coding — Oman had Australian healthcare advisors during 1990s–2000s infrastructure build), adapted for Omani context. Private hospitals: predominantly use CPT (American) directly, especially for Dhamani insurer billing. For international record translation, CPT is the most universally recognized reference.

dental

FDI (ISO 3950)

Federation Dentaire Internationale two-digit notation universally used across Omani dental practices, both MOH dental clinics and private.

drugs

MOH Drug Registration (National Drug Code — Oman)

MOH Directorate General of Pharmaceutical Affairs and Drug Control (DGPA) maintains the national formulary. All drugs must be MOH-registered. Arabic and English names both registered. Drug registration aligned with Gulf Health Council (GHC) standards — drugs registered in one GCC state can receive expedited registration in others. Oman's controlled substance scheduling follows UN International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) schedules with local additions.

Translation Corridors

OM→IN (most critical: Omani nationals traveling to India for specialized care — orthopedics, oncology, cardiac surgery at Indian tertiary centers; also Indian workers returning home with Omani hospital records) IN→OM (Indian expat records for Dhamani enrollment or care continuation — very common given 800K Indian community) OM→US (Omani nationals seeking complex care in US: cancer treatment, rare conditions; records for US hospital or insurer) OM→GB (Omani students and patients going to UK for care) PK→OM (Pakistani workers: health records for Dhamani enrollment) BD→OM (Bangladeshi workers: large construction community) PH→OM (Filipino healthcare workers — often their own records needed for licensing verification)

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