What are the New Laws for Healthcare Professionals?

The UAE government has set stricter penalties for medical practitioners who are caught working without a license or who don't adhere to the rules.

The decision is a result of recently passed federal decrees and revisions to rules regulating veterinary medicine, healthcare professionals, and healthcare providers.

The government has specified a number of medical ethics and professional behavior for healthcare workers as part of the changes.

Additionally, a national medical register for qualified healthcare workers will be created. In order to increase international investments in the veterinary industry, the law has been amended to now let foreign entrepreneurs and investors set up and own veterinary facilities.
 

What are the new rules?

• Regulating the practice of a number of allied healthcare professions, including nursing, laboratories, medical physics, functional therapy, physiotherapy, aesthetics, anesthesia, audiology, and radiology.
• As per the law, no one is allowed to practice a health profession unless they are authorized by the health authority. Obtaining a license requires a bachelor’s degree or a health professional qualification recognized in the country. The individual must be of good conduct and should be medically fit to perform their duties.
• Healthcare professionals are prohibited from selling or promoting medicines or samples to patients, or directing them to purchase medicines from a particular pharmacy.
• The law also prohibits the submission of false documents or incorrect data to the health authority or employer, in addition to prohibiting the disclosure of the patient's secrets.

What are the fines?

• Whoever practices the profession without holding a license and without meeting the conditions that allow him/her to obtain the license, or whoever submits incorrect documents or data or resorts to unlawful means that result in their wrongful licensing, will be jailed and/or fined an amount ranging between AED 50,000 and AED 100,000. In addition, the health authority may close the health facility if the violator operates it individually.
• Any person who practices the profession without holding a license but who meets the conditions that allow him/her to obtain the license will face fines ranging between AED 10,000 and AED 100,000. The authority may close the health facility if the violator operates it individually.
• The updated penalties include a written warning, a fine ranging between AED 1,000 and AED 500,000, a temporary suspension of the license to practice the profession for a period not exceeding six months, or the revocation of the license, in case the director or the manager of the health facility, the administration or personnel violates the provisions of the law.
• A fine ranging between AED 1,000 and AED 1 million or temporary closure of the facility for a period not exceeding six months, or a final closure of the facility, in case a private health facility violates the rules.

What are the Veterinary facilities?

• The amendments include updating the duration of expertise required for the licensing of Emirati veterinarians and recent graduates to pursue the profession.
• Veterinarians and assisted medical professionals are exempt from certain fees.
• Amendments also include allowing foreign entrepreneurs and investors to establish and own veterinary facilities, in order to enhance foreign investments. The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment has established a national register for veterinarians, veterinarian practitioners, and assistants authorized to practice in the country.