His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Rabeeah holds today morning April 10, 2011, an open meeting with a number of local specialists and those concerned with the health insurance field within the opening of the Health Insurance Conference, “Options & Prospects,” will be held on April 10th and 11th, 2011, at the Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center.
The conference events will demonstrate the reality and features of the Saudi health system and the future vision of the Ministry of Health, that will be stated by the Deputy of Planning and Development, Dr. Mohammad Bin Hamza Khoshaim. The conference aims to introduce a scientific approach to providing healthcare, to exchange knowledge and expertise about health insurance and healthcare services, and to innovate and develop sustainable solutions for healthcare funding in the Kingdom.
The conference will include eight hours of continuous training for all participants. Moreover, the conference will discuss two topics dealing with the health insurance industry in Saudi Arabia - Basics and Concepts of Health Insurance – that aims to understand the different patterns and choices of health care funding in the Kingdom.
On the other hand, the second topic will conference will feature comparisons between a number of national healthcare systems - Challenges and Future Prospects - where distinguished experts will present a comparison between national health systems in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
The conference will be attended by a number of local healthcare specialists, along with twelve speakers from Europe, America and South Africa.
Experts and specialists will discuss national, regional and international health insurance experiences. The conference sessions will be held with the participation of public and private health specialists in the insurance field, Saudi universities and the International Advisory Board of the Ministry of Health, State Secretary of the Health Federal Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Stefan Kapferer in addition to some experts from the World Bank.
The first day of the conference will cover basic concepts about healthcare funding in the Kingdom. Sessions will include an introduction to global healthcare systems and financing and the history, models and performance of health insurance in the Kingdom. Other talks will address the impact of insurance on key indicators such as quality, cost, and patient satisfaction. Actual experiences of insurers and private healthcare providers will be presented, along with discussions about the many challenges and opportunities for healthcare providers and insurers in the Kingdom.
The second day of the conference will feature comparisons between a number of national healthcare systems by leading experts. These sessions will inform a broad discussion on the evolution of health systems, best practices, and challenges and recent developments in health insurance. Sessions will also provide a background and short history of health systems and health insurance, and an overview of the allocation of resources, structures and sources of funding within different health systems. Additionally, overviews will be presented about how outstanding, mature healthcare systems plan, manage, fund and deliver health services across different levels. A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the pros/cons and key indicators of different health systems will also be discussed.
The conference will also include a review of the recent developments in global health systems and commercial and social insurance, in addition to a discussion about the challenges facing health systems at the national level, health insurance and the global best practices.