Under the auspices of His Excellency the Vice Minister for Health Affairs, Dr. Mansour bin Nasser Al-Howasi, His Excellency the Advisor to the Minister of Health, and Supervisor-General of the “Referral Program”, Dr. Khaled bin Abdulrahman Al-Hussein, has inaugurated the Expanded Meeting and Refresher Training for the executive directors of medical cities, directors of referential hospitals, and directors of treatment eligibility and medical coordination in regions, held at the grand auditorium of the MOH Headquarter in Riyadh on Tuesday 26/6/14H (corresponding to 7/5/2013), with the participation of the senior leaders of the Ministry of Health (MOH), namely the Director General of Public Relations and Health Awareness, Dr. Khaled Merghalani, and the Supervisor-General of MOH Bed Management Program, Mr. Yasser bin Saaed Al-Ghamdi, in addition to representatives from the MOH central departments, including the Hospitals General Department, Health Emergency General Department, and the Information and Communication Technology General Department (ICT). Also, a number of representatives from the Security Forces Hospital in Riyadh, King Khaled University Hospital, and King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, have participated in this conference.
His Excellency Dr. Khaled Merghalani, , during the meeting, touched upon the importance of communicating with the sects of the Saudi community, especially patients, through the Patient's Voice System through the number (937) of the call center, which operates 24 hours a week, to respond to callers' inquiries or to provide an urgent medical service. It is worth mentioning that individuals can communicate via mobile phone or any fixed phone within the Kingdom; given that, this service is available currently on MOH Portal, which attracts the attention of the whole MOH staff, starting from His Excellency the Minister of Health to the lower-ranked employee.
These steps come as part of implementing the directives of the Minister of Health to find solutions for the problems faced by patients in order to receive the best health care, through the adoption of non-traditional solutions to put an end to patients suffering by applying the "My Referral" E-Program and Bed Management Program, the matter that contributes to solving (80%) of the total problems.
In the same vein, His Excellency the Supervisor-General of MOH Bed Management Program, Mr. Yasser bin Saaed Al-Ghamdi, has shed light on the course of the Bed Management Program, and its supervisory role in observing the problems resulting from the non-optimal use of bed turnover rate. Mr. Al-Ghamdi has also focused on the importance of coordinating with the directors of hospitals, directors of Treatment Eligibility and Medical Coordination, and directors of Medical Care Department concerning the inpatients to reduce the duration of patient's residence in the hospital, pointing out that, the MOH Bed Management Program is expected to provide 10000 vacant beds, and save SR 3 billion paid annually for the patient's stay for a half day.
On the other hand, His Excellency the Advisor of the Minister of Health, and Supervisor-General of the “Referral” Program, Dr. Khaled bin Abdulrahman Al-Hussein, has talked, in his statement, about the course of applying the Bed Management Program starting from the first idea, that was built on the fact that the primary responsibility falls on both the doctor who sent the patient and the another doctor who received him.
Dr. Al-Hussein mentioned that patients have the right to receive the medical service whatever its levels and whoever the patient is located, pointing out that, the attendants have subjected to training sessions on the use of the third edition of “My Referral” E-Program; given that, this edition harmonizes with the feedback of the users of the program at all levels, comes as part of implementing the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and applies the Slogan “Patient First”.
In the same context, Dr. Al-Hussein underscored that all the regions and hospitals are ready to apply the Bed Management Program, in a manner that ensures the provision of a high-standard level of services for citizens, by providing the medical, technical, administrative and logistic referral services for patients all over the medical facilities in the Kingdom efficiently and effectively.
The attendants of the meeting have emphasized, in conclusion, on the importance of the close follow-up of patients referred among health facilities regularly at different levels of powers. Besides, the attendants have highlighted the importance of having a look at the circulars and regulations mentioned in the Program, then complying with their provisions. The attendants also agreed to adopt the Slogan “No for Paper Referral” from now on.
At the end of the conference, Dr. Khaled bin Abdulrahman Al-Hussein as well as the attendants have expressed their deepest thanks and appreciation for His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, for adoption of such creative programs, as well s his unlimited support to the health sectors, and remarkable leaps witnessed in the health services. They also lauded the efforts exerted by His Excellency the Vice Minister for Health Affairs, Dr. Mansour bin Nasser Al-Howasi, and His Excellency the Vice Minister of Health for Planning and Development, Dr. Mohammed Hamzah Khushaim.