Health Law in Saudi Arabia

The Health Law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a law aimed at ensuring the provision and regulation of comprehensive and integrated healthcare for all Saudi residents in a fair and accessible manner.

The Health Law was issued on June 4, 2002, by a Royal Decree. The law comprises nineteen articles, of which some were amended later by Royal Decrees and the Council of Ministers' resolutions.

The effective onset of providing healthcare services commenced after the establishment of the General Directorate of Health and Ambulance in 1926, which was later renamed the Ministry of Health in 1951.

The Health Law in the Kingdom stipulates that the state must provide healthcare and promote the overall health of the community, ensuring a healthy living environment. This includes, in particular, ensuring the safety and quality of drinking water, the safety and proper treatment of wastewater, the safety of food products, and the reliability of medicines, pharmaceuticals, and medical supplies. Furthermore, the state is tasked with protecting the community from the dangers of narcotics and alcohol, as well as safeguarding the country against pandemics and pollution hazards.

The Health Law in the Kingdom aims to ensure comprehensive and integrated healthcare for all residents in a fair and accessible way. The Ministry of Health seeks to establish a cohesive network of healthcare services that reaches every province in the Kingdom. In collaboration with provincial councils, the ministry assesses the healthcare needs, locations, and levels of service required based on the geographical and demographic characteristics and prevalent diseases in each province. Additionally, the ministry provides healthcare services to citizens in government medical facilities at no cost.

The state, under the Health Law in the Kingdom, is responsible for providing healthcare services to its citizens. These services include programs focused on women’s health, maternity and childhood care, healthcare for people with disabilities and the elderly, immunization initiatives, and healthcare for emergencies, accidents, and disasters. Additionally, healthcare services are available for male and female students, as well as treatment for chronic and terminal illnesses, such as organ transplants, tumor resections, dialysis, infectious disease management, and mental health support. The state also addresses other essential aspects of primary healthcare.

The Kingdom boasts an integrated network of healthcare services that extends to all Saudi provinces, encompassing primary, secondary, and specialized healthcare levels. In collaboration with provincial councils, the Ministry of Health evaluates healthcare needs, service locations, and the levels of care required based on geographical and demographic characteristics, as well as the prevalent diseases in each province.

Under the law; funding for healthcare services comes from the state’s general budget, revenues from the Cooperative Health Insurance, endowments, grants, donations, and wills, etc. The law also outlines procedures for privatizing government hospitals, with decisions made by the Council of Ministers based on proposals from the Minister of Health.

The Health Law assigns the Ministry of Health the responsibility of providing healthcare services. This includes delivering services in hospitals, as well as in secondary and specialized treatment centers. The ministry is also tasked with ensuring access to primary healthcare services and developing health strategies and plans necessary to make healthcare available to all members of society. Additionally, the ministry is responsible for preparing health and vital statistics, conducting scientific studies and research, analyzing the findings, and utilizing this information effectively. Furthermore, the ministry sets requirements and guidelines for preventing the spread of infectious and epidemic diseases, reporting such cases, and implementing measures to combat or eliminate them. Finally, it is responsible for applying both preventive and remedial health measures.

The Ministry of Health is also responsible for developing programs to prepare and enhance the workforce in the health sector in cooperation with relevant authorities; establishing the necessary requirements and controls for licensing private health institutions and their staff; monitoring the activities of these institutions and evaluating the quality of their performance; regulating and overseeing the circulation of medicines and drugs, ensuring their availability, suitability, proper use, and reasonable pricing; ensuring that health professionals practice correctly and adhere to the ethical standards of their profession; setting rules and standards for the quality of healthcare and ensuring their implementation; developing programs and plans to promote comprehensive health awareness at the community level; regulating the conduct of pharmaceutical and medical experiments and research; and establishing national policies for women’s health and implementing plans for its ongoing improvement in cooperation with relevant authorities.

The Health Law in the Kingdom outlines the responsibilities of the Saudi Health Council. These responsibilities include planning the healthcare strategy for the Kingdom to ensure its approval by the Council of Ministers. The council is also tasked with establishing an appropriate organizational system for operating hospitals managed by the ministry and other government entities, ensuring they adhere to principles of economic management and performance quality standards. Furthermore, the council is responsible for developing and approving policies that promote coordination and integration among all entities involved in providing healthcare services. This is especially important in areas such as ambulance and medical evacuation services, as well as primary, secondary, and specialized healthcare services. The council also oversees the procurement of medicines, medical supplies, and devices to ensure optimal use. It also facilitates the transfer of patients between various health entities, conducts health research, provides education and training for the healthcare workforce, raises health awareness among the population, delivers healthcare to pilgrims, fosters the exchange of expertise among specialists in different health authorities, and develops environmental health initiatives.

The council’s responsibilities also include appointing a secretary general for the council, evaluating and periodically reviewing health policies and plans, establishing rules for compensating experts consulted by the council, studying and assessing the level of healthcare services, identifying the needs of the healthcare sector, making recommendations for the distribution of all types of healthcare services across the Kingdom's provinces, enhancing the quality of healthcare services, coordinating with government entities providing healthcare services to establish hospitals, projects, and specialized health programs, implementing the policies, plans, programs, and projects outlined in the National Healthcare Strategy, addressing any challenges that may arise, forming specialized committees to assist the council in carrying out its duties, whether at the secretariat or in provinces, defining their scope of work, regulations governing their operations, and the rights and duties of their members. Additionally, the council is responsible for reviewing healthcare service-related regulations and proposing amendments and improvements, as well as issuing the necessary organizational, administrative, and financial bylaws for the smooth operation of the council and approving the organizational structure of the council’s secretariat.