Jordan’s Legislative and Opinion Bureau has published draft regulations that would establish a medical liability insurance fund.
The non-profit fund will be established by the Higher Health Council and will be a legal entity with financial and administrative independence, reported Al Sawsana. The creation of the fund is provided for by the Medical and Health Liability Act.
The draft regulations grant the fund power to own, lease and invest in movable and immovable property. It will be mandatory for health service providers to pay annual premiums to the fund for insurance against medical and healthcare errors in the course of their operations.
The system classifies health service providers according to the level of risk, namely: high, medium or low. The high-risk category comprises doctors and dentists. The medium-risk category includes general practitioners, pharmacists, registered nurses and midwives. The low-risk category includes assistant nurses and other supporting medical professionals.
The draft regulations also set out the compensation ceilings for each risk category. The fund will not pay out claims to any health service provider after a second incident during the year of participation.
A fund management committee will be formed, headed by the secretary general of the Higher Health Council. Its members will consist of representatives from the ministries of health, finance, industry and trade, Royal Medical Services and university hospitals, as well as the various unions in the healthcare sector representing doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, midwives, lab owners, and medical analysts. The committee will also include a delegate from one of the health professional associations not represented by unions and another from the Audit Bureau.
The committee will execute judgments issued by the competent court or arbitration panel regarding the payment of compensation for participants covered by the fund.
The fund’s resources consist of the annual contributions of health service providers engaged in the healthcare sector, investment returns, donations and grants. M