Over the past years, the healthcare system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has witnessed a remarkable transformation, since the establishment of the Kingdom’s comprehensive and ambitious Vision 2030, which has a healthy and vibrant society. This has been reflected in the launch of a number of reform initiatives in the healthcare sector, led by entities such as the Digital Transformation Unit, the Vision Realization Office, the Ministry of Health, and other stakeholders. These entities have identified digital health as a key driver of healthcare, and Vision 2030 has set out to develop actionable strategies. At the same time, many new entities have been created to meet the demands of the growing digital health sector.
As a result of these reforms, Saudi Arabia has experienced significant improvements in digital health. For example, the (NPHIES) electronic health record management system has been implemented, and the rate of hospitals which have Hospital Information Systems (HIS) has increased significantly. Electronic referrals are now common practice in all Ministry of Health facilities. Likewise, the community has benefited from applications that allow individuals to book appointments, view their health records, as well as receive virtual consultations, which have witnessed significant growth in the number of users, especially during the recent Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to beginning to standardize e-health platforms.
However, challenges and obstacles to digital health are still the main reasons for some aspects of inefficiency, such as duplication of initiatives, wastage of resources, and lack of clarity in overlapping roles and responsibilities among stakeholders. In addition, the community also faces challenges such as delays in receiving care, and long waiting times due to increased demand for health care.
To meet these challenges, several actions are being taken, including provider reforms, workforce development, digital health development, governance structure development, financing provision, and implementation of a new care model. One of the key measures is the transformation of the Ministry of Health into a high regulatory authority for healthcare, focusing on regulating, monitoring and supervising aspects of healthcare, including digital health. As for the planning and delivery of healthcare and digital health services, it will be the responsibility of accountable care organizations, which are currently groups that are set up to become future care organizations.
Based on these recent developments, in addition to demands for change urged by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need for an updated MoH digital framework and strategy and roadmap that guides the MoH for digital health and its internal and external stakeholders to work jointly towards providing a world-class healthcare experience focused on patients and empowered by digital health in line with the implementation of the goals of Vision 2030.