Up to Dh2m fine, jail under new UAE medical practice draft law

Abu Dhabi - A draft law was was approved earlier this month.

The Federal National Council, FNC, during its session - earlier this month - at its headquarters in Abu Dhabi headed by its Speaker, Dr Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi, approved a draft federal law regulating practicing the medical profession.
Its provisions apply to all those who practice or request to practice the profession inside the country including the free zones. The session was attended by Dr Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention, and Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs.
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According to the draft law, no one is allowed to practice medicine unless they are licenced by the health body, and have received the licence, according to the provisions of this law. It does not exempt anyone from receiving any other medical licences mandated by legislation, and doctors must practice the profession within the scope of the licence granted to them and the licence of the health establishment they are working with.
Any physician violating the law will not only face prison term but a fine of not less than Dh200,000 and not more than Dh2 million.
The offenders will also be removed from the doctors register, according to reports in Arabic press.
A fine of not less than Dh20,000 and not more than Dh1 million shall be imposed on any doctor who breaks the rules pertaining to the medical report and medical file regulations.
The draft law aims to protect the community from illegal medical practices and puts in place the legal foundations for practising the profession which ensures the best medical services to individuals, as well as the necessary professional standards which stop illegal medical practices that compromise medical ethics.
The FNC stressed the importance of the draft law in light of the rapid advancement witnessed by the country in the different sectors, particularly the health sector, which is a promise of development and achieves the National Agenda of the UAE Vision.
This includes a health system that relies on the most sophisticated international standards and offers health services, quality and performance- measuring systems while establishing the preventive aspect. It ensures the readiness of the health system to deal with the epidemics and health risks, for the UAE to have the best healthcare quality by 2021.

• Abu Dhabi