SAConsent, privacy and communication
Informed Consent Course Under Saudi MOH Guidelines
Informed consent in Saudi Arabia under Article 19 and the MOH 2019 guidelines: capacity, guardians, minors 15 to 18, emergencies, refusal, interpreters, forms and 30-day validity
- 2hours of learning
- 9sections
- 20final questions
- 80%pass mark
- Online and self-paced, on any device
- Reflective account template
- Knowledge checks in every section
- Certificate the day you pass
What you will learn
- Apply Article 19 and the MOH 2019 guidelines to decide whether a consent is valid.
- Explain benefits, risks above the guidelines' thresholds and alternatives, and check understanding.
- Identify the right decision-maker: capable adult, guardian, representative or joint consent at 15 to 18.
- Act correctly in emergencies, refusals and withdrawals of consent.
- Use interpreters and complete forms that meet the rules on witnesses and 30-day validity.
- Separate treatment consent from consent for photographs, research and personal data.
Who this course is for
All SCFHS-registered, MOH-licensed practitioners in Saudi Arabia.
Structured learning and a written reflection to show insight after a complaint, an investigation or a hearing before a violations committee or the Sharia Health Panel.
Focused learning on a core standard of practice, with a certificate and reflection for your portfolio.
About this course
Consent is a legal condition of every medical intervention in Saudi Arabia, yet the detailed rules are often misunderstood: who signs for a 16-year-old, whether a husband must agree, how long a form stays valid, and what to do when no guardian can be reached in an emergency. This course works through Article 19 of the Law of Practicing Healthcare Professions, the MOH Saudi Guidelines for Informed Consent (2019) and the SCFHS Code of Ethics, with Saudi case studies from hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and laboratories.
It is written for physicians, dentists, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, health specialists and technicians, Saudi and expatriate, in government and private practice. Each section ends with a knowledge check, and the course closes with a 20-question scenario assessment and a guided reflection and action plan you can keep with your CPD records.
Course details
- CPD value
- 2 CPD hours of independent learning; SCFHS decides how any learning counts towards your registration
- Standards covered
- Law of Practicing Healthcare Professions (Art. 19 and related articles); MOH Saudi Guidelines for Informed Consent (2019); SCFHS Code of Ethics; PDPL
- Format
- Online and self-paced, 9 sections with Saudi case studies and knowledge checks
- Assessment
- 20 scenario-based questions, 80% to pass
- Price
- SAR 229
- Outcome
- Certificate of completion and a structured reflection and action plan
Course curriculum
9 sections · 22 lessons · 2 hours of learning · 20-question final assessment
-
1Consent in Saudi law and the MOH 2019 guidelines2 lessons
- Why consent is a legal duty for every Saudi practitioner
- The Saudi Guidelines for Informed Consent and how they fit with facility policy
-
2What makes consent valid3 lessons
- The conditions for valid consent
- What the patient needs to be told
- Spoken, implied, signalled and written consent
-
3Capacity, guardians and who decides3 lessons
- Assessing whether a patient can decide
- Guardians, representatives and the order of decision-makers
- Married patients, pregnancy and fertility decisions
-
4Children and young people2 lessons
- Under 15, and the joint rule from 15 to 18
- Disagreements, urgency and safeguarding concerns
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5Emergencies, refusal and withdrawal3 lessons
- Treating without consent in an emergency
- When a capable patient says no
- Withdrawal, time to decide, and when consent is not required
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6Language, interpreters and the consent conversation2 lessons
- Working across languages with interpreters
- Running the consent meeting well
-
7Documentation, forms, witnesses and validity2 lessons
- What a valid consent form must show
- Roles, checks and common mistakes
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8Photographs, teaching, research and personal data3 lessons
- Clinical photographs, recordings and social media
- Students, trainees, tissue and research
- Consent to treatment and consent to data use under the PDPL
-
9When consent goes wrong, reflection and action planning2 lessons
- How consent problems become complaints and cases
- Reflection and your consent action plan
Assessment and certificate
Final assessment
20scenario-based questions
- Pass mark 80%: 16 correct out of 20
- Knowledge checks in each section as you go
- Tests whether you can apply the standards, not recall a page
- Not passed yet? Review the sections and retake it
Certificate of completion
A dated certificate of completion for your learning portfolio. It records the course, the hours of learning and your result; SCFHS decides how any learning counts towards your registration.
- Your name, the course title and the hours of learning
- Completion date and a unique certificate ID that can be verified
- Ready to download as a PDF as soon as you complete the course
2 hoursYour reflective account
The course includes a structured reflective account template: guided prompts to record what you learned, how you will apply it and how the change will show in your practice. It gives you written evidence of insight after a concern, and a ready record for your CPD portfolio.
Write it in your own words and leave out anything that could identify a patient, a colleague or a case. If you have an open complaint or case, talk to your adviser before reflecting on it in writing.
Questions about this course
Does the course follow the MOH Saudi Guidelines for Informed Consent?
Yes. The course is built around the first edition of the MOH Saudi Guidelines for Informed Consent (1440H/2019), together with Article 19 of the Law of Practicing Healthcare Professions and the SCFHS Code of Ethics. It explains how these fit with your facility's own consent policy, which you should always check.
Who consents for a patient aged 15 to 17?
Under the 2019 guidelines, both the young person and the guardian must agree for patients aged 15 to 18, unless the intervention is necessary and cannot be postponed. Below 15, the guardian consents. Section 4 explains how to manage disagreement and urgent care for minors.
Does a husband have to sign for his wife's treatment?
Under Regulation 1-19 a capable adult patient, male or female, consents for herself. For permanent sterilisation the 2019 guidelines ask a married patient to inform her spouse without requiring his approval, while the SCFHS Code's text takes a different line on reproductive procedures. The course explains this difference and why you should follow your facility's policy and record your reasoning.
How long is a signed consent form valid?
The 2019 guidelines say most consent forms are valid for no more than 30 days from signature, with some forms tied to a number of sessions or to the procedure itself. Section 7 covers validity, witnesses and the other features that make a form valid or invalid.
Is this course useful after a consent complaint?
Many practitioners use structured learning and written reflection to show that they understand the standard and have changed their practice. The course can help you do that, but it cannot decide the outcome of any complaint or case. If a committee or your employer has asked for specific training, check with them, your insurer or your lawyer that this course is suitable.
Will this course count towards my SCFHS CPD hours?
Gulf Med Ethics is independent and does not award SCFHS CPD hours. SCFHS decides how any learning counts towards your registration; you can apply to SCFHS through the recognition service on Mumaris Plus to have learning recognised. Your certificate shows the course title, the hours and the completion date.
Is it suitable for nurses, pharmacists and technicians as well as doctors?
Yes. Physicians explain procedures and obtain consent, but the guidelines give nurses a duty to verify consent before a procedure, and pharmacists, laboratory staff, radiographers and therapists obtain consent for their own interventions every day. Case studies cover all these roles.
How this course was built
- Official sources only
- Every legal and regulatory point comes from primary sources: Saudi laws and implementing regulations, SCFHS codes and guidance, and Ministry of Health publications. Anything we cannot confirm is left out.
- Original, edition by edition
- Lessons, scenarios and assessment questions are written by us for each edition separately, then checked for accuracy, teaching quality and fair assessment before publication.
- Reviewed when rules change
- When a code, standard or law changes, the affected courses are reviewed and updated. Reported errors in legal or regulatory facts are corrected first.
- Independent, and clear about it
- We are not affiliated with or approved by SCFHS, the Ministry of Health, any violations committee or any other government body, and we never promise an outcome.
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