Introduction
Vision 2030 is the master plan that will regulate the development agenda of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The aim of vision 2030 is to modify the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to become the most developed state in all areas. One field the government of Saudi Arabia intends to transform using vision 2030 is the healthcare sector (Al-Dossary 2018). The ministry of health (MOH) in Saudi, through its leadership, intended to revolutionize healthcare delivery for all its citizens. For example, leaders in the MOH in Saudi Arabia intended to bring smooth changes in more than 20 regions in the Kingdom by modifying policies that govern healthcare. At the same time, healthcare leaders in Saudi Arabia are developing and changing healthcare regulations and laws that govern healthcare delivery and finding approaches (privatization of healthcare sectors). Changes in the healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia are steered and enforced by the Saudi Arabia ministry leadership. MOH intended to provide more than 60% of healthcare services in more than 2300 health facilities in Saudi Arabia (Alymeni, 2013). The ministry of health in Saudi Arabia is partnering with the local and international community to develop an appropriate approach for funding healthcare in the region. Further, new policies being developed by the ministry of health aim to nurture the delivery of quality healthcare services and ensure that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has a sustainable and effective healthcare system by 2030.
At the same time, through its leadership, the Ministry of Health in KSA intended to improve healthcare services by modifying its current technology. The selection of healthcare technology for transformation in Saudi Arabia’s health sectors will depend on demographic and social patterns. One significant characteristic of Saudi Arabia’s population is the increase in the youthful population. For example, 45% of human resources in KSA are youth. At the same time, the majority of the youthful population in Saudi Arabia have advanced education and are conversant with modern technologies such as innovative devices, cloud computing, web, online platform, and smartphone (Akdere, Top & Tarcan, 2021). The paper will examine the ICT challenges affecting MOH in Saudi Arabia.
HIS Innovations in Saudi Arabia
Through the ministry of health, the government of Saudi Arabia has put in place critical strategies for achieving healthcare transformation using eHealth. Healthcare organizations in Saudi Arabia are investing in modern technology to achieve “consistency and quality in healthcare services and facilities and access to current, comprehensive, and accurate patient information at the point of care” (Alymeni, 2013). Consistency and quality in Saudi Arabia’s healthcare service are significant in maintaining optimal emotional, physical, and mental health using medication reminders and appointment follow-up.
The health information system used in KSA for improving consistency and quality in health care services and facilities is electronic health records. Electronic health record (EHR) is the technology used by a healthcare organization in Saudi Arabia to store patients’ medical history, such as administrative and clinical data. A survey conducted in fifteen hospitals in the Eastern province of KSA by Jabali & Jarrar (2018) established that seven healthcare centers have implemented an electronic health record system. The healthcare centers that have implemented the electronic health record system are using it for communication, decision support, and documentation. At the same time, electronic health records are used by healthcare facilities to combine patient medical charts into digital documents. Electronic health record systems enable healthcare providers in Saudi Arabia to access updated real-time information regarding patients.
Consistency and quality in healthcare services and facilities are restricted in healthcare organizations in Saudi due to medication errors, inappropriate records, and inappropriate clinical decisions. Electronic health records are critical in eliminating medication errors by improving communication between healthcare providers. For example, electronic health record systems eliminate duplicative tests and enhance consistent clinical decisions such as patient treatments (AlSadrah, 2020).
Healthcare facilities in KSA have already started implementing cloud computing technology to access to current, comprehensive, and accurate patient information at the point of care (Gómez et al., 2021). The healthcare organizations in Saudi Arabia are deploying cloud computing to process healthcare data. Cloud computing technology allows healthcare organizations to share information, enhance operation efficiency, and minimize the cost of care. For example, cloud computing technology is used by healthcare organizations to store data; this minimizes the running cost of maintaining physical databases.
Healthcare facilities in KSA use cloud computing to resolve access to current, comprehensive, and accurate patient information at the point of care challenges. First, it helps healthcare stakeholders to collaborate through information sharing; this strengthens treatment approaches used by healthcare providers (Alassafi, 2021). The healthcare facility utilizes cloud computing to protect patient data from alteration. For example, healthcare facilities that have implemented cloud computing can store patient health records without depending on a third party to manage them. Furthermore, cloud computing enables healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia to access patient information faster.
Equitable Care Standards
Healthcare in Saudi Arabia should be provided to all citizens without variation or based on individual geographical location, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender. The ministry of health can achieve equitable care standards in Saudi is improving knowledge among healthcare workers and patients and improving the service delivery in healthcare centers. The two approaches the ministry of health in KSA is deploying to achieve equitable care standards are developing policies that promote equity in healthcare and ensuring that every individual in the region has access to healthcare services(Al Asmri et al., 2020). For example, the ministry of health is amending the policy to help people living in poverty in the region access healthcare services. At the same time, the government of KSA provide free healthcare services to all its citizen; healthcare services are funded using oil revenues. Further, the MOH in Saudi Arabia is using different forms of communication such as online platforms and media broadcasts to issue updates on health matters to all citizen
The ministry of health in KSA enhances access to healthcare services by providing the private healthcare sector with interest-free-loan to expand healthcare services. At the same time, Saudi Arabia’s government is partnering with the private health sector to improve the quality of service in the public healthcare organization. The ministry of health in the Kingdom is also creating attractive policies for foreign investors and private investors, such as hospitals’ ownership permits and cheap mortgages. For example, in 2018, the total foreign investment in the healthcare sector in Saudi amounted to US$ 3.5 billion (Rahman & Al-Borie, 2021). In addition, healthcare facilities enhance access to care using technology by simplifying the process of seeing a specialist or scheduling appointments.
Governance and accountability
KSA is in position twenty-six in providing excellent healthcare services to its citizens. The government of Saudi is promoting governance and accountability in the healthcare sector to achieve vision 2030 using the following approach. First, the ministry of health is partnering with the private sector to increase medical insurance. All Saudi nationals, dependents, and emigrants must have medical insurance while working in the private sector. The government of Saudi Arabia provides free medical insurance to public servants. In addition, the private and public health sectors are working together to privatize the healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia (Rahman 2020). Insurance providers are also developing new healthcare insurance policies to address the public sector employees’ needs when the private sector entirely takes control of the healthcare system in Saudi
The ministry of health in Saudi is promoting governance and accountability is increasing investment in e-health. For example, the government of Saudi intends to spend $27 billion on information and communication by 2025 (Samra et al., 2020). The ministry of health and healthcare facilities uses e-health to collect, process, and share information with the public. For example, the ministry of health in Saudi Arabia deployed internet and online platform to create awareness of emerging health care diseases such as Covid-19. Patients, healthcare professionals, and healthcare organizations in Saudi Arabia can access essential updates using e-health services from the MOH website.
Quality and performance
The health sector in the Kingdom is experiencing significant growth. The ministry of health is improving healthcare quality by increasing the number of healthcare resources and improving workflow. First, healthcare quality in Saudi is improved by healthcare resources, such as increasing healthcare facilities and human resources. For example, in 2020, the MOH in Saudi increased public hospitals by 0.03% and hospital beds by 1.2% (Ministry of Health, 2020). At the same time, the number of physicians and dentists employed by the ministry of health in Saudi Arabia increased by 3.5%. In addition, the government of Saudi Arabia also directs its significant revenues (approximately US$2.4 billion for healthcare services). The life expectancy in Saudi Arabia has increased by 0.1% (which is equivalent to 1 month).
MOH promotes quality health care in KSA through the improvement of workflow. The MOH in the Kingdom has developed a framework for healthcare teams, communication channels, and seamless information access to improve workflow in health organisationstion. For example, huge healthcare investments are directed to e-health to facilitate collaboration, access to information, and effective communication within the region (Alasmari et al., 2021). The MOH in Saudi ensures that effective workflow is established in Healthcare organizations by conducting regular accreditation and compliance audits to improve working environments within the care facilities. The Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions in the Kingdom ensures that healthcare facilities in the region maintain the compliance standards such as patient safety and outcomes.
Drivers of ICT Success
Information and communication technologies (ICT) is steered by two drivers’ government support and knowledge and awareness of ICT methods and tools. Government support is one driver of enhancing ICT success in the KSA. For example, 4% of the gross domestic product in Saudi Arabia is directed to health improvement, such as adding modern technology to healthcare facilities. The government of Saudi Arabia is promoting ICT in the region using foreign investors by changing investment and creating conducive business environments. For example, the government provides free-interest-loan to local and international investors for health care improvement. The government is creating a conducive business to encourage foreign investors to come with advanced technology to improve healthcare services in the region. At the same time, the government has continued to increase its investment in ICT. For example, in 2015, the Saudi Arabia government’s spending on ICT was approximately $35 billion, while in 2019, it increased its investment to $39billion (Noor, 2019).
The other driver for ICT is knowledge and awareness of ICT methods and tools. For example, a learning institution that trains healthcare providers trains them using modern e-learning and online class technology. The learning institution enables healthcare professionals to know how to use big data in global databases to improve their clinical decisions when providing medical services. Many people living in KSA are aware of the importance of ICT in gathering and sharing information (Alswailem et al., 2021). For example, in 2021, the total number of internet users in Saudi Arabia was 33.58 million people. At the same time, the number of internet users in the region increased by 4.2% or 1.3million people from 2020 to 2021. 27.8 million Saudi Arabian people uses social media to share information by 2021. These statistics show that many people are aware, accepting, and steering the use of digital transformation in Saud Arabia.
Conclusion
The aim of vision 2030 is to modify the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to become the most developed state in all areas (Al-Dossary 2018). The HIS Innovations in Saudi Arabia include cloud computing and electronic health records. The two approaches the ministry of health in Saudi Arabia is deploying to achieve equitable care standards are developing policies that promote equity in healthcare and ensuring that every individual in the region has access to healthcare services. To achieve governance and accountability, MOH in Saudi has increased investment in e-health and partnered with the private sector to increase medical insurance (Rahman 2020). The ministry of health is improving healthcare quality by increasing the number of healthcare resources and improving workflow. Further, information and communication technologies (ICT) are steered by two drivers’ government support and knowledge and awareness of ICT methods and tools
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