Law of Private Health Institutions

Purpose and scope

• Governs the licensing and oversight of private health institutions such as hospitals, medical complexes, clinics and laboratories.

Key rules, rights and obligations

• Except for hospitals, ownership must be Saudi, and a clinic's owner must be a specialist doctor who works there full time and supervises it (Article 2 as amended).
• The building must meet health and engineering requirements and be properly equipped (Article 3), and a medical complex needs at least one consultant in each main speciality (Article 14).
• An institution must give emergency treatment to all serious urgent cases without requiring payment first (Article 16).
• An institution may advertise only within the bounds of professional ethics (Article 31).

Violations, penalties and common problems

• Opening a health institution without a licence: closure and a ban on licensing for six months to two years, with a fine graded by type of institution (Article 20).
• Other violations: a fine of ten thousand to one hundred thousand riyals, closure for up to sixty days, or licence cancellation (Article 21).
• Common problem: refusing an emergency case until payment is made, which breaches the law.

Procedures and key deadlines

• Inspection committees in the health directorates oversee institutions (Article 17).
• Violations committees in the directorates hear violations, and their decisions may be challenged before the Board of Grievances within sixty days of notification (Article 25).
• A licence ends when its term expires without a renewal request, and a new application may be made once conditions are met (Article 19).

An advisory summary prepared by Al-Bayan Al-Wadih Law Firm. It is not an official text and does not replace the law, its implementing regulations, or advice from a specialised lawyer. The official published text and its amendments prevail.