In force Last amended 10/7/1444 AH
Saudi Private Health Institutions Law
نظام المؤسسات الصحية الخاصة
Regulates private health institutions in Saudi Arabia, including licensing and the rules for hospitals, dispensaries, clinics, medical laboratories and allied medical service centers, plus penalties. It concerns owners and operators of private health facilities.
- Articles
- 35
- In force
- 35
- Amended
- 2
- Issued
- 3/11/1423 AH
Issued by: مرسوم ملكي رقم م/40 بتاريخ 3 / 11 / 1423 · قرار مجلس الوزراء رقم 240 بتاريخ 26 / 10 / 1423
Each article shows the official Arabic text, which is the only legally binding version, followed by our plain-English explanation.
Browse Private Health Institutions Law by topic
Types of Private Health Institutions4 articlesOwnership and Supervision of Health Institutions1 articleLicensing of a Private Health Institution5 articlesCancellation and Expiry of a Health Institution License2 articlesBuilding Requirements and Medical Equipment4 articlesMedical Staff in Private Institutions7 articlesPrices of Private Health Services1 articleEmergency Treatment and Urgent Cases3 articlesReporting Duties of Health Institutions3 articlesInspection of Private Health Institutions2 articlesPenalties for Health Institution Violations4 articles
Articles of the Saudi Private Health Institutions Law
- Article 1The article defines a private health institution and its types: hospital, general and specialized medical complex, clinic, radiology center, medical laboratory, day-surgery center, supporting health service centers and ambulance transport centers.
- Article 2A clinic's owner must be a full-time Saudi doctor specialized in its work; complexes, laboratories, radiology and day-surgery centers need a full-time supervisor; and a hospital's medical director must be a qualified Saudi doctor.Amended M/112
- Article 3The building of a private health institution must meet health conditions, engineering specifications and suitable layout, and have the needed equipment and systems for medical waste, infection control and health information, under the Regulations' standards.
- Article 4No private health institution may be opened or operated until all conditions of the Law and its Regulations are met and the necessary licenses obtained; the license is granted for five years and is renewable.
- Article 5The article sets the fee for a license or its renewal by type of private health institution, from SAR 1,000 for a clinic to SAR 15,000 for a hospital with more than 100 beds.
- Article 6Private health institutions are classified when licensed or renewed according to criteria and conditions set by a specialized committee, which the Implementing Regulations designate along with the classification procedures and method.
- Article 7Each private health institution must set its service prices for Ministry approval and may not change them without approval, post them prominently, give the patient an approximate cost report before treatment, and a detailed final statement afterward.Amended
- Article 8A private health institution may not employ doctors, other health practitioners or pharmacists until they hold a license from the Ministry to practice the profession.
- Article 9The minimum number of beds is 30 for a general hospital, 20 for a two-specialty hospital and 10 for a single-specialty hospital.
- Article 10A hospital must provide the necessary number of resident doctors, specialists, consultants, pharmacists, technicians, nurses and supporting health staff according to its capacity and classification grade, under the Regulations' standards.
- Article 11A private hospital must be equipped with the necessary medical devices, a laboratory and radiology unit, isolation rooms, intensive care beds, emergency services, and an internal pharmacy meeting the Pharmacy Practice Law.
- Article 12Every health institution must report any infectious disease case to the competent health authority immediately on diagnosis and refer quarantine cases directly to Ministry hospitals, notifying the authority immediately.
- Article 13Clinics and medical complexes must have a sufficient quantity of the emergency medicines and means the Regulations specify, and are prohibited from selling them.
- Article 14Licensing a general or specialized medical complex requires at least a consultant in each licensed main specialty and a nurse for each clinic; in remote areas set by the Ministry the consultants may be reduced to one or specialists may suffice.
- Article 15Laboratory, radiology center, day-surgery center and supporting health services, of any type, must be provided by licensed specialists in the profession, and the Regulations set the conditions, qualifications and work procedures.
- Article 16A private health institution must provide emergency treatment to all dangerous emergency cases that come to it, without any financial demand before treatment, as the Implementing Regulations specify.
- Article 17Each health affairs directorate has inspection committees for private health institutions to verify they apply the Law, its Regulations and the Ministry's decisions and to monitor quality levels; the Regulations set their formation and working method.
- Article 18A private health institution's license is cancelled if ownership passes to another owner, or its activity or its location changes, without the Ministry's approval.
- Article 19A license expires when its period ends without a renewal request, or six months after the owner's death, though it may be kept for the heirs for a period the Ministry sets if they apply within six months of the death.
- Article 20Opening a private health institution without a license is punished by closure and a ban on licensing for 6 months to 2 years, plus a fine from SAR 10,000 up to SAR 300,000 depending on the type of institution, without prejudice to any harsher penalty.
- Article 21Violating any provision of the Law, other than those in Article 20, is punished by one or more of: a fine of SAR 10,000 to SAR 100,000, closure for up to 60 days, or withdrawal of the license with a two-year bar on a new one.
- Article 22The Medical Sharia Committee provided for in the Law of Practice of Human Medicine and Dentistry has jurisdiction over the liability of private health institutions for professional medical errors claimed as a private or public right.
- Article 23The committees in Article 25 may, as a precaution, suspend the activity in question where strong evidence from the preliminary investigation shows violations punishable by license withdrawal or closure.
- Article 24If closing a private health institution would harm the patients who benefit from its services, the Ministry takes whatever is necessary so they continue to receive the treatment they need, in the way it considers appropriate.
- Article 25Committees formed by the Minister in the health affairs directorates consider violations and impose penalties, with decisions carried out only after the Minister's approval; grievances go to the Board of Grievances within 60 days, and final penalties are published at the violator's expense.
- Article 26A private health institution must explain the provisions of the Labor Law, the procedures manual, the job description and related laws in force in the Kingdom to anyone it wants to contract with, before contracting.
- Article 27A private health institution must enable health practitioners to attend continuing medical education programs in their specialty, inside or outside the Kingdom, as the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties determines.
- Article 28All hospitals must have a medical library and subscribe to suitable scientific periodicals in their specialty; other health institutions must provide the basic scientific periodicals related to their specialty.
- Article 29In emergencies requiring mobilization of all health resources, the Minister may order any private health institution, or part of it, to be used for purposes he sees fit, with the Ministry paying fair costs for the period of use.
- Article 30A private health institution must immediately notify the nearest competent security authority and the regional health affairs directorate of any criminal incident or patient death, and keep a complete record of traffic accidents and injuries.
- Article 31A private health institution is prohibited from advertising itself except within limits that do not conflict with professional ethics, under standards set by the Implementing Regulations.
- Article 32The Minister must issue the Implementing Regulations of the Law of Private Health Institutions within ninety days of its publication in the Official Gazette.
- Article 33The Law of Private Health Institutions replaces the Law of Private Medical Institutions issued by Royal Decree No. M/58 dated 3/11/1407 AH.
- Article 34Existing licenses continue under the rules in force when the Law was issued, and institutions must adjust their positions to the Law and its Regulations within five years of the Regulations taking effect, extendable with the Prime Minister's approval.
- Article 35This article provides for publishing the Law of Private Health Institutions in the Official Gazette, with the law taking effect 90 days after publication.