MOH spokesman Dr. Khalid M. Al-Marghalani has revealed that the preparatory works for an overall health strategy has been accomplished two years ago. "It is now under study by an experts panel", he said. "MOH has started working on it since the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques directed the Minister of Health Dr. Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Mane towards the importance of setting an integrated health strategy on the basis of separation between the tasks of service providers, service monitors, and service financiers".
He said in a press release that the strategy comprises a set of principles, including distinction between the different tasks of service provision, such as service financing, service operation, service monitoring, etc. Other principles include establishment of a general corporation for government hospitals, establishment of a national fund for primary health care, development of primary health care at both therapeutic and preventive levels, allocation of separate funds for the general directorates of health affairs, and establishment of a commission for health care provision in each province.
According to Al-Marghalani, implementation of such principles requires introduction of a set of necessary reforms, including unification of file numbers for each patient regardless of the health facility looking into his case, providing the opportunity of obtaining health care for all those seeking health service, allocation of a certain primary health center for each patient, development of health information systems at all relative sectors, establishment of a common information network linking all health sectors and facilities, establishment of an independent national board for quality, etc.