The Ministry of Health (MOH) will organize the ̔Medicine and Law Forum̕ in collaboration with the Saudi Law Training Center, on October 21st – 23rd, 2014, in Riyadh. The forum aims at acquainting patients, physicians and medical professionals with their rights, obligations and duties, with a view to be the basis for upgrading the level of the medical services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, carrying it to the level of the best countries offering medical services.
Advisor to the Minister of Health, and Supervisor-General of Media and Health Awareness, Dr. Khalid Al-Marghalni, has confirmed that the gathering aims to proceed with bolstering the level of legal culture for all employees and affiliates of the medical sector in general, in addition to promoting the knowledge of the culture of rights and duties for both parties of the health relation; namely, the health professional and the patient. That is to be added to raising the level of familiarity with the laws governing the medicine industry, and everything relating to the legal and judicial affairs in this industry.
For his part, Chairman of the Saudi Law Training Center, Lawyer Majid Garoub, explained that the orum is accredited as 24 CME hours by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCHS). He said that the forum will discuss over three days some important issues dealing with the close relationship between law and medicine, and a mechanism to regulate that relationship. “On the sidelines of the forum”, he added, “11 working sessions will be held, during which 30 working papers will be presented, with the participation of a number of specialists and officials from the Ministry of Health and other concerned parties, such as physicians, law experts and administrative staff, and those having to do with the medical affairs, including judiciary, criminal security and forensic medicine.” Meanwhile, Al-Marghalani underscored the importance of the participation of everyone in supporting and sponsoring the gathering.
He pointed out that the objectives assigned to the forum include drawing attention to the rights of workers in the private medical sector, and shedding light on the social and legal circumstances under which women are working in both public and private medical sectors, as well as boosting the knowledge of businessmen working in the health field, and igniting their interest in the social responsibility they are to shoulder.