Morocco Unveils Ambitious Health System Reform Plan to Strengthen Hospitals and Services

Three reference elements guide this project, said the Minister of Health at the outset, citing in particular the implementation of the guidelines of King Mohammed VI which aim to completely revise the national health system, promote the sector and accompany the framework law No. 09.21 on social protection which covers the obligation to reform the national health system and its rehabilitation.

"This project consists of rehabilitating the health offer through the support of the regional dimension, by implementing the regional health program and by applying the obligation to respect the treatment option and by working to rehabilitate the health institutions," he said. This involves the creation of the higher authority for integrated health legislation, the regional health agencies, as well as the territorial health groups, details Khalid Ait Taleb, who emphasized the enhancement of human resources in connection with the specificities of the sector. This reform provides for the creation of a public health service.

On this, it will be necessary to overcome the obstacles posed by law 131.13 on the practice of foreign practitioners in Morocco, with the adoption of new rules promoting the principle of equal treatment between Moroccan doctors and their foreign counterparts, since they will all practice the profession in the same space and under the same conditions.

This reform project also aims to open the country to foreign investment, expertise and medical skills. The kingdom will benefit in terms of high-quality health infrastructure and biomedical equipment, while Moroccan medical skills practicing abroad will be encouraged to return permanently to the country.

And Taleb concluded: "The creation of an integrated information system that allows the collection, processing and exploitation of all basic information relating to the health system, including the private sector, is another pillar of this project, which will also allow precise monitoring of the patient and the evaluation of the progress of their treatments, based on the common medical record while improving the billing system in hospital facilities".