Within the framework of the cultural renaissance and the sustainable development in the entire service infrastructure in our dear country, the health services take up all the care and attention of our governors, may Allah protect them.
The health sector is one of the brightest spots in the Kingdom's development and building march, as the health sector has witnessed conspicuous development through the consecutive development plans. This can be attributed to the grace of our Almighty Allah; then to the state's strenuous efforts in supporting this vital and important sector.
Within the same vein, the Ministry of Health (MOH) plays a main role in the health development, proceeding from its responsibility for developing and implementing the health policy. The Ministry focuses, through its health strategy, on providing all citizens with the health services, including all the preventive, curative, and rehabilitative aspects, and making these services reach them in an easy and smooth way.
Currently, the MOH is witnessing comprehensive and developmental improvement and a quantum leap in all its services and facilities, all of which aim at ensuring the patient's safety and service and gaining his satisfaction. As such, it has carried out several programs aiming at serving patients and putting the slogan; "Patient First" into effect. The MOH pays currently great attention to the citizen. Further, the Ministry has at hand a lot of developmental projects, under implementation or construction, which were approved to be included in the MOH's budget.
These projects include developing and constructing medical cities, specialized and general hospitals, and medical towers agreed to be implemented by the Royal Decree. These projects are to cover the entire Kingdom's regions and governorates and they will, Allah willing, contribute to advancing the level of the health services.
Strategic Plan
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has launched its ten-year strategic plan "1431-1440H/2010-2020", under the slogan: "Patient First", after having assessed the facts on ground and pinpointing the insufficiency aspects which the health system is plagued with. This plan aims at developing the health system and improving the quality of the health services, provided by the MOH, to the quality levels existing in the developed countries.
The MOH's strategic plan is to accredit the integrated and comprehensive health care approach, along with paying attention to the hands-on aspect. Moreover, it is to lay down the institutional work approach, raise the quality level, assess and monitor performance, recruit qualified cadres, develop human resources, along with developing the e-health and information systems. That is to be added to the optimal usage of resources and applying the healthcare economies and their financing sources.
Development and Construction Projects:
The Ministry of Health has finished the National Project for Integrated and Comprehensive Healthcare as one of the 1430-1440 strategic plan elements. This was manifested in four main projects.
- Primary Health Care Centers Projects:
The primary health care centers are considered the most prominent pillars of the National Project for Integrated and Comprehensive Healthcare. Thus, 776 centers were established and equipped during the last three years, and 637 centers are under construction, bringing the total number of the new centers to 1671 centers. Annually, these centers are visited by approximately 55 million patients. As such, the number of the primary health care centers is to rise from 1905 centers in 1430H to 2109 centers in 1434H. By the end of the strategic plan, the total number of centers will increase to 2750.
- Hospitals:
61 hospitals, with a bed capacity of 7956 beds, were run in the last four years. Moreover, during the next months, 10 hospitals will be run and inaugurated as part of the MOH's plan that aims at running 30 hospitals in the current and next year. Also, 138 hospitals and medical towers, with a bed capacity of 34800 beds, are being established and put up for tenders. In this way, the number of beds will increase from 31400 beds in 1430H to 36886 beds in 1434H. It is expected for the total number of beds to reach 70693 beds by the end of the strategic plan.
- Specialized Medical Centers:
During the past four years, the Ministry began to expand in the establishment of specialized medical centers; given that the MOH has actually established 9 centers for heart surgery and diseases. Within this year (1434H), the Ministry is expected to establish 3 new centers for heart diseases and to run 3 other centers, thus, the total number of the heart centers will amount to 15 centers. The Ministry has also run 5 centers for tumors treatment during the period 1430-1434H. Moreover, it works currently on constructing 3 other centers within this year's budget, thus, the total number of tumor centers will increase to 8 centers. By the end of the strategic plan (1440H), the number of tumor centers will increase up to 12 centers, in addition to the services provided in the departments and units of oncology in the other hospitals.
- Medical Cities:
Starting from 1430H, the Ministry began to provide health care services of the 4th level as a modern and qualitative approach to be applied in the Kingdom. Meanwhile, the Ministry will establish 5 medical cities under the National Project for Integrated and Comprehensive Health Care with the aim of increasing the number of beds up to 6200 beds. The medical cities are expected to comprise a number of specialized hospitals and centers for tumors, nervous system, complex cardiac operations, radiotherapy, transplantation of organs and eyes, along with other rare specialties. The medical cities include expansion of King Fahd Medical City (KFMC) in Riyadh to serve the Central Region, King Abdullah Medical City in Makkah to serve the Western Region, King Faisal Medical City to serve the Southern Region, Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Medical City to serve the Northern Region, and King Khalid Medical City to serve the Eastern Region. Due to the financial and administrative independence of such medical cities, the Ministry was keen to provide the administrative climate that helps regulate the workflow and to make use of the available capabilities in the best way through appointing a single board of directors, under the chairmanship of the Minister of Health and in the participation of the relevant Ministries, to become the governing body that regulates the workflow towards the desired vision. It is noteworthy that the board of directors has achieved many accomplishments, including unification and adoption of some regulations and controls.
Programs of Medical Performance Improvement:
The Ministry of Health has adopted a new and integrated package of qualitative programs to improve the medical performance, including:
- Medical Institutions Accreditation Program: 50 hospitals were accredited by the Central Board of Accreditation for Healthcare Institutions (CBAHI); along with other 40 hospitals waiting for accreditation. In addition, 15 hospitals have been accredited by JCI; along with other 21 hospitals waiting for the same accreditation.
- Clinical Audit Program: this program follows up 49 clinical indicators in 90 hospitals.
- Critical Errors Reporting Program: this program analyzes and records the errors and develops rules to guarantee that they will not recur again.
- Physician Productivity Follow-up Program
- Drug Safety Program
- Australian Medical Coding System
- Productivity Improvement Program: this program is used to improve productivity in operation rooms, intensive care units, and emergency departments.
New Qualitative Service Programs:
Starting from 1430H, the Ministry has adopted a qualitative package of the new service programs, including:
- One-Day Surgery Program: this program has managed to improve the percentage of one day surgery from 2% in 1430H to 46% in 1434H.
- Home Medicine Program: this Program is used to provide all the services needed by a patient; given that the number of beneficiaries of this program reached 28000 patients till now since the inauguration of the program in 1430H.
- Visiting Physician Program: this program works on attracting technical cadres of consultants specialized in rare specialties from within and outside the Kingdom to work in its regions and provinces. The total number of the attracted consultants reached 2833 consultants since the inauguration of the program in 1430H.
- Program of Service Purchase from the Private Sector: a patient who does not find a bed in MOH's hospitals is referred into the private sector. This service is widely used in the intensive care units for adults, children and newborns, as well as the emergency departments. The total sum paid on this program during the last year reached SR 718 million.
- Program of Dialysis Services Purchase from the Private Sector: the total sum allocated for this program during this year (1434H) reached SR 1.9 billion.
Programs of Administrative Performance Improvement:
- Referral Program: this program aims to refer the patients among the Kingdom's hospitals in an electronic, fast and clear manner, whereas the physician is the only person who can start the referral procedures directly. This e-program is designed to transfer patients whose heath status requires referral to large hospitals, in an endeavor to ensure transference in high professionalism without the need for entreaty to obtain this service.
The “Referral E-Program” endeavors to facilitate the process of referring patients who need to be treated in specialized hospitals in any city in the Kingdom; knowing that, it will serve to connect all governmental hospitals to all health facilities indoors, instead of the previous procedure, in which the process of referring patients from a hospital to another was conducted by the General Medical Committee in the region or the city.
- 937-Service: the Ministry has established an emergency call centre working 24/7 to serve patients, provide ambulatory services and meet the needs of patients.
- Establishment of Patient Rights and Relations Department in all Hospitals and Health Directorates: this program serves as the link between the Ministry and the citizens, knowing that, it was created upon the desire of the Ministry of Health to strengthen and develop the process of communication with the beneficiaries of its services in all health facilities through solving their problems and facilitating the process of delivering the appropriate health services for them. The Ministry managed, through this program, to electronically monitor and identify the level of patients and beneficiaries' satisfaction with the services provided in 100 hospitals.
- Construction of some councils with the aim of adopting the institutional and collective work approach, including (International Advisory Board - Executive Council in the Ministry and Directorates - Medical Cities and Specialist Hospitals Board).
Preventive Medicine and Health Promotion:
- The Ministry established a public health department that meets the standards of preventive programs and combats non-communicable genetic diseases as well as the communicable diseases. The department comprises a sub-department for the preventive health and another sub-department for primary health care.
- Implementation of 37 preventive programs, including:
- Anti-Smoking Program
- Healthy Marriage Program
- National Immunity Program
- AIDS Combat Program
- Diabetes Awareness Program
- Field Epidemiology Program
- Cancer Early Detection Program
The Ministry has set comprehensive health programs to achieve its preventive objectives; such as Expanded Immunization Program, Epidemiological Surveillance Program, Hajj Preventive Medicine Program, and Joint Diseases Control Program. Furthermore, the number of the diseases targeted by expanded immunization vaccines, in the Kingdom in 1434H, reached 13 diseases compared to 5 diseases in 1399H, whereas the proportion of immunization reached 98% of the basic vaccines, leading to a major reduction in the rates of the targeted diseases in this program.
In addition, the Ministry of Health pays close attention to the immunization program since its inauguration, and the Kingdom, may Allah protect it, has supported such an attitude, as evident in the fact that in 1399H (corresponding to 1979) the King's approval of linking the babies' birth certificate to a list of the targeted diseases that are to be immunized against was issued. And in 1991 the unification of the expanded immunization list took place in the entire health sector (both governmental and private).
The immunization program kept on developing and coping with all the latest in the field of vaccines, as in 2002 the integrated vaccines were used through the usage of bacterial quadruple vaccine with the goal to reduce the number of syringes administered. And the program leapfrogged during the last three years, as hepatitis (A), chickenpox, and streptococcus vaccines were introduced, in addition to meningitis vaccine.
The Kingdom has entered into the phase of eradicating the measles, German measles (Rubella), and mumps. In the beginning of the current academic year, the Ministry has launched a comprehensive vaccination campaign against the measles, rubella, and mumps for 9 months to 24 years age group, and such a procedure will continue in the next years, Allah willing; in the hope that such diseases will be eradicated from the Kingdom by 2015.
Inauguration of the Media and Health Awareness Information Center: the Ministry launches, through this center, awareness programs and campaigns throughout the year in order to provide medical advice and respond to callers' inquiries via MOH's toll-free number: 8002494444. The Ministry makes use of the social networking websites in activating the health awareness programs and health promotion.
Qualification of the Workforce:
- The number of MOH's scholars to the foreign countries increased from 1049 scholars in 1431H to 1424 scholars in 1432H.
- 2500 seats have been deducted from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Program for Foreign Scholarships, with a rate of 500 scholars a year.
- The number of internal scholarships increased from 600 employees in 1430H to 1474 employees in 1433H.
Information Technology and E-Health:
The Ministry of Health launches a number of e-health programs, including:
- Health Information System (HIS)
- Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS)
- Cloud Computing System
- Epidemiological Surveillance System (HESN)
- Pre-Marital Screening System
- Neonatal Protection System
- E-Poison Control System
- E-Telemedicine System
Furthermore, the Ministry has accomplished linking most of the its hospitals to an electronic system to register and follow up the serious medical incidents, which take place in hospitals within up to 48 hours as maximum; and the steps of linking the private sector hospitals will take place in the forthcoming period. Also, the Ministry has ended of designing a unified system of multi-media communications, allowing the user to receive the coming audio and visual messages and fax at their email or their cell-phones. The Ministry's 150.000 employees will be linked in the first phase.
Medical Supply and Equipment:
The Ministry of Health has developed the information centers of medicines and poisons, and has provided them with the internationally-accredited programs to cope with the development of health services, as such centers have been provided with (Micromedex) program, in addition to preparing a project to develop pharmacological services through preparing the intravenous nutrition and solutions using the highest standards and safety.
Meanwhile, the Ministry has embarked on establishing 29 warehouses in the first phase, and 100 warehouses will be built, Allah willing, in the second phase. The guarantee period has been raised to become five years rather than two years. Also, the tenders and bids have been reviewed and the Ministry has obtained medicine-price reduction by 20% of the prices offered two years ago.