Article 21 of the Saudi Healthcare Professions Practice Law
المادة 21 من نظام مزاولة المهن الصحية
The article requires the healthcare practitioner to keep patient secrets, and defines when disclosure is allowed, such as reporting a criminal death or infectious disease, with the secret-holder's written consent, or by judicial order.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
يجب على الممارس الصحي أن يحافظ على الأسرار التي علم بها عن طريق مهنته، ولا يجوز له إفشاؤها إلا في الأحوال الآتية:
أ - إذا كان الإفشاء مقصودًا به :
1 - الإبلاغ عن حالة وفاة ناجمة عن حادث جنائي، أو الحيلولة دون ارتكاب جريمة، ولا يجوز الإفشاء في هذه الحالة إلا للجهة الرسمية المختصة.
2 - الإبلاغ عن مرض سارٍ أو معدٍ.
3 - دفع الممارس لاتهام وجهه إليه المريض أو ذووه يتعلق بكفايته أو بكيفية ممارسته لمهننته.
ب - إذ وافق صاحب السر كتابة على إفشائه، أو كان الإفشاء لذوي المريض مفيدًا لعلاجه.
ج - إذا صدر له أمر بذلك من جهة قضائية.
This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers
Article 21 explained in plain English
This article sets the rule of medical confidentiality: the healthcare practitioner must keep the secrets they learned through their profession, and may not disclose them except in the cases specified in the text:
(a) If the aim of the disclosure is:
- To report a death resulting from a criminal incident, or to prevent a crime from being committed. In this case disclosure may only be to the competent official authority.
- To report a communicable or infectious disease.
- For the practitioner to defend themselves against an accusation made against them by the patient or relatives concerning their competence or how they practiced their profession.
(b) If the secret-holder consents to disclosure in writing, or disclosure to the patient's relatives is useful for their treatment.
(c) If the practitioner has been ordered to do so by a judicial authority.
Outside these cases the secret remains protected. Note that the consent recognized in paragraph (b) is the written consent of the secret-holder, and that disclosure to the patient's relatives is limited to what is useful for their treatment.
The article is consistent with Article 20, which requires the physician to notify the authorities immediately if they suspect the death was criminal. Anyone who believes their medical secrets were revealed outside these cases may consult a lawyer specialized in healthcare practice and medical malpractice cases.
Practical example
A company in Riyadh asked a physician to tell it the diagnosis of one of its employees. The physician may not give it this information, because the case is not one of the excepted cases, unless the employee consents in writing or a judicial authority issues an order.
Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.
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Frequently asked questions about Article 21 of the Saudi Healthcare Professions Practice Law
May a doctor reveal a patient's secrets?
No, except in the specified cases, such as reporting a criminal death or preventing a crime to the competent official authority, reporting an infectious disease, with the secret-holder's written consent, or by order of a judicial authority.
May a doctor tell the patient's family about their condition?
Disclosure to the patient's relatives is permitted if it is useful for their treatment, or if the patient consents in writing.
May a doctor reveal patient information to defend themselves?
Yes, if it is to answer an accusation made against them by the patient or relatives concerning their competence or how they practiced their profession.
The texts are reproduced from the official website of the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers for reference; where they differ, the officially published Arabic text prevails. This content is not legal advice.