“Saudi Commission for Health Specialties Updates Professional Classification and Registration Regulations”

2023-05-22 09:31:50

The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties intends to allow obtaining a professional classification in more than one professional category at the same time, and to allow acceptance of experience as a substitute for qualification in the professional classification according to conditions that will be set later.

For this purpose, the Authority updated the Professional Classification and Registration Regulations and put them up for survey on the “Istikla” platform, and the update stipulated that professional registration with the Authority may only be for one professional category.

The authority also intends to form a committee to look into violations of classification and professional registration. This committee will undertake several tasks, including recommending the penalties that will be applied against violators. The following are the most prominent details of what was stipulated in the update:

Duties of the Violations Committee

The tasks of the committee include examining cases related to the submission of testimonies or experiences of questionable validity to obtain classification or professional registration, or the submission of data that does not conform to the truth, or the use of illegal methods that resulted in granting the applicant classification or professional registration.

The committee is also competent to consider a request by a competent government agency to suspend or cancel professional registration, provided that this request is based on reasons related to professional competence, professional behavior, or patient safety, with evidence being submitted, or the issuance of a final judgment proving that the health practitioner committed a crime against him. honor or honesty, or the issuance of a final judgment or decision from a competent authority proving the health practitioner’s breach of the ethics of the health professions or related to the revocation of the license to practice the health profession in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The tasks of the Authority also include looking into what is referred by any committee specialized in examining violations within or outside the Authority, or in professional classification and registration decisions that violate the provisions of these regulations, or the health practitioner’s non-compliance with professional re-evaluation procedures, or any other violation of the provisions of these regulations and the approved standards.

sanctions

The update granted the Committee for Reviewing Violations the right to make recommendations to suspend the professional registration for a period not exceeding one year, or cancel the professional registration, or cancel the professional registration with the inclusion of the name of the canceled registration in the list of those prohibited from benefiting from the services of professional classification and registration, or cancel the decision of the professional classification, Or referral to professional evaluation in the event of violations, and these recommendations will not be effective until approved by the Secretary General of the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties.

Acceptance of experience as a substitute for qualification

The Authority affirmed that experience is not considered a substitute for the qualification requirement in the professional classification, and as an exception, experience may be accepted as a substitute for the qualification requirement in accordance with controls determined by the professional classification and registration standards proposed by specialized councils and committees and approved by the Secretary-General.

Divide qualifications into groups

The update confirmed that the authority has the right to divide the qualifications for each occupational category into groups, and determine the requirements for professional classification and registration for each group, provided that the authority prepares lists of recognized qualifications and health specializations, and publishes these lists on its website.

The Commission also has the right to reject the equivalence of qualifications that do not meet the minimum requirements and requirements or that violate the regulations and standards approved in the Kingdom, and it has the right to equivalence them in the category and specialization that it deems appropriate in accordance with the provisions of this regulation and the approved standards.