JMA to publish list of licenced doctors to rein in misleading ads, malpractice 

AMMAN — The Jordan Medical Association (JMA) is currently finalising a list of doctors of all specialties in the Kingdom to be published on the association's website within a month to facilitate safer and more accurate reference for prospective patients, according to JMA President Ziad Zu’bi. 

Many incidents have happened at the hands of “unauthorised” medical professionals undertaking primarily cosmetic procedures that they are not licensed to perform. 

Another growing concern within the medical community has been the “misleading” posts on social media advertising medical services. 

Zu’bi noted that the names of JMA-licensed doctors in every specialty will be published on the website, while every doctor who does not have a valid permit from the JMA has been removed.

He pointed out that many of those who have been removed are currently rectifying their status in order to re-obtain the permit.

“The emergence of this list is due to the confusion of specialties that has occurred recently, the list will provide both the specialty as well as the sub-specialty of each doctor,” Zu’bi noted. 

He indicated that the number of practising doctors in Jordan in all sectors, including government, military and private facilities stands at around 28,000, “only 40 per cent of whom are specialised,” said Zu’bi. 

He explained that several sub-specialties have been approved, while the main specialties are readily available in Jordan.

According to Zu’bi, most of the major medical specialties in Jordan do not suffer from any shortage, but new sub-specialties that have emerged may face a shortage of qualified doctors.

“The challenge we face in the medical sector lies in the distribution of doctors between the governorates,” Zu’bi noted.

He added that there is a need to redistribute sub-specialties in all private and public sectors, and they should be redistributed “fairly”.

“For example, it is illogical to establish a cardiac catheterisation unit in a hospital in Salt, and there are no specialists at the hospital,” Zu’bi added. 

The number of specialised doctors should be determined proportionally based on the population, said Zu’bi.

Regarding medical advertisements on social media platforms, Zu'bi said that a new system to regulate medical advertisements on social media is currently being viewed by legal professionals at the Legislation Bureau. However, the JMA already monitors online advertisements and detects violations, said Zu’bi.