CONSULTANCY: Malpractice Law, USAID, Health Services Quality

Hours: The contract includes multiple assignments that will be assigned, ranging from 1-15 days over 2 months.

Consulting Rate: Commensurate with required experience and qualifications

Reports to: Health System Strengthening Senior Advisor

University Research Co., LLC (URC)

Guided by a strong vision of equitable and resilient systems that respond to people's needs and emerging threats, URC helps countries and local actors to build, implement, and sustain science-driven, scalable solutions. Established in 1965, URC offers a range of technical expertise to empower governments, communities, and service providers toward strengthening their own health and social systems and improve service quality. We aim to expand access to and improve the quality of services, addressing maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health; global health security and infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria; reproductive health and family planning; nutrition and water, sanitation, and hygiene. In our interactions with each other and our clients, we stay true to our values for transformative change by focusing on:

Creativity: by unleashing our creativity, we enhance engagement and interaction to improve problem-solving.

Collaboration: not only our work towards the same vision and mission instill staff with a strong sense of purpose, but also enables us to complement each other's skills and allocate work to maximize everyone's strengths.

Accountability: we hold ourselves responsible for accomplishing goals, completing assignments, and making decisions.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion: we embrace the importance of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment, where our leadership and staff model behavior that enriches our organization, demonstrates respect for all people, and supports opportunities for all staff.

Transparency: we understand that when employees deeply trust one another and their leaders, they will be more engaged in their roles because they will not be worried about unfair treatment.

Overview:

The USAID Health Services Quality Accelerator (HSQA) Activity aims to accelerate and sustain improvements in Jordan's reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) outcomes by improving access to quality health services and strengthening leadership and governance capacity in the health sector.

In FY23, the Activity worked with the MOH to develop a comprehensive accountability framework for the health system, complementing and supporting the MOH's Strategic Plan for 2023-2025. It also tested a set of accountability tools at health center level with the MOH. In FY24, the Activity plans to develop and test accountability tools for RMNCH staff and services at the hospital and HD levels, ensuring accountability and performance evaluation across all levels of the health system. One legislation that can affect the accountability process is malpractice law.

Complementing the Activity's efforts in supporting the accountability framework, it is important to ensure the proper implementation of the Malpractice Law #25, 2018, which will support the enforcement of the accountability framework. The MOH has requested the Activity's assistance in this regard. This is included in the Activity's FY24 Work Plan, section 2.3.2: Promote an enabling policy environment for the accountability framework. In an email dated 14 November 2023, the USAID AOR agreed for an initial assessment to be done but not yet for compiling professional standards for health care practice as proposed in the Work Plan.

Consultancy objectives:

The objective is to provide a thorough analysis of the current state of implementation of the Malpractice Law and relevant policies related to malpractice in the health sector, identifying gaps and providing practical recommendations for addressing those gaps.

The assessment should include but not be limited to the medical and administrative staff job description, approved professional standards, procedures followed, and codes of conduct (behavioral rules for health care practice).

Reports required and deliverables:

Project overview: Provide a detailed overview of the project, including its objectives, scope, and expected outcomes. Define the specific focus areas within malpractice law practices, regulations, and policies in the health sector related to malpractice and include medical and administrative staff job descriptions, approved professional standards, procedures followed, and codes of conduct for health care professionals.

Desk review: Conduct a thorough review of existing literature, legal documents, and relevant materials related to malpractice laws and health policies related to malpractice. Conduct a thorough review of the areas within malpractice law practices, regulations, and policies in the health sector, and include medical and administrative staff job descriptions, approved professional standards, procedures followed, and codes of conduct for health care professionals. and identify key stakeholders, regulatory bodies, and legal frameworks governing malpractice in the health sector.

Legal and regulatory analysis: Identify any gaps and challenges in implementing Malpractice law articles.

Stakeholder interviews: Conduct interviews with key stakeholders including healthcare professionals, legal experts, insurance providers, and patient advocacy groups and gather insights into their perspectives on the strengths and weaknesses of current malpractice laws policies and practices.

Data collection and analysis: Collect quantitative data related to malpractice claims, litigation outcomes, and trends over a specified period. and analyze the data to identify patterns, hotspots, and potential areas for improvement.

Benchmark practices relevant for Jordan against best practices in malpractice laws and policies in comparable jurisdictions or countries. And identify innovative approaches or successful models that could be adapted to enhance the current system.

Provide clear and actionable recommendations for improving malpractice laws, and related regulations, and policies, and suggest potential legislative changes, policy reforms, or procedural improvements.

Outline a roadmap for implementing the recommended changes. and provide a timeline, budget estimates, and key milestones for the proposed reforms.

Prepare a comprehensive report summarizing the situational analysis, findings, and recommendations.

Propose mechanisms for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the implemented changes. and establish key performance indicators to assess the impact of the reforms over time.

Qualifications:

Education: Law degree, specializing in health or malpractice law;

Experience: Previous experience in healthcare malpractice or healthcare legal analyses;

Understanding of healthcare systems and in-depth knowledge of relevant regulations;

Effective written and verbal communication in both Arabic and English;

Stakeholder Engagement: Good interviewing skills and the ability to build positive relationships with a wide range of stakeholders;

Project Management: Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks;

Critical Thinking: Analytical thinking for problem-solving;

Ethical Considerations: Adherence to ethical standards and integrity;

Adaptability: Flexibility to handle changes in project scope;

Teamwork: Collaboration with a diverse team.

Please include your proposed consultancy rate within your application and/or cover letter.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Unless otherwise directed we will retain your CV in our database for future consultancy opportunities.

URC is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.

We value and seek diversity in our workforce.

Full time