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Country’s healthcare system in a nutshell
Health care in Saudi Arabia is a national healthcare system in which the government provides free universal healthcare coverage through a number of government agencies. There is also a growing role and increased participation from the private sector in the provision of health care services. Saudi Arabia has been ranked among the 26 best countries in providing high-quality healthcare.The Ministry of Health is the major government agency entrusted with the provision of preventive, curative, and rehabilitative health care for the Kingdom's population. The Ministry provides primary healthcare services through a network of healthcare centers (comprising 1,925 centers)throughout the kingdom. It also adopts the referral system which provides curative care for all members of society from the level of general practitioners at health centers to advanced technology specialist curative services through a broad base of general and specialist hospitals (220 hospitals). The ministry is the lead Government agency responsible for the management, planning, financing, and regulating of the healthcare sector. It also undertakes the overall supervision and follow-up of health care related activities carried out by the private sector.has introduced universal health coverage in 2019, ensuring that every Saudi citizen and resident can access healthcare at no cost. The government not only oversees the provision of these services but also serves as the primary source of funding for the system. The Ministry of Health (MOH) is tasked with regulating the healthcare system and ensuring service delivery across the country.
The healthcare system is structured into three levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary care. Primary care is offered through primary healthcare centres (PHCs), which deliver essential services such as preventive care, health education, and screening. Secondary care is provided by hospitals and specialised centres that offer more advanced services, including diagnostic procedures, surgical operations, and emergency care. For the most complex treatments, tertiary care is available at specialised hospitals that focus on procedures such as transplants and cancer therapy.
Despite these advancements, the system faces several challenges, such as a shortage of healthcare professionals, insufficient preventive care, and significant health disparities between urban and rural areas . (Gurajala, 2023)
Funding for the MOH primarily derives from the annual government budget, which is largely supported by oil revenues (Almodhen and Moneir, 2023)
Public vs private
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The national PHR
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The development has been carried out by Lean Business Services, a private company which has partnered with the Ministry of Health (Ministry of Health, 2021).
On 2 Sep, 2022 the 2nd of September 2022, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health (MoH) announced that the Sehhaty app has become the national platform for the healthcare needs of individuals, and that all government bodies in the health sector were going to be integrated with Sehhaty to provide health services through the app.
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The agreement between the MoH and DGA aimed at several matters, such as merging the health sector apps and platforms and improving the patients' experience in the health sector as well as facilitating and accelerating the deal with the government bodies. Furthermore, it intends to provide consultation services with regard to digital government and achieve efficiency of digital spending for government services. The agreement was aimed at positively impacting patients: through the unification of data sources, its goal is to achieve a better level of services in the healthcare sector, ultimately increasing patients' satisfaction rate.
Features
Sehhaty platform serves all individuals, citizens, and residents in the Kingdom, along with their dependents, including children, the elderly, or people with special needs. The service is available in Arabic and English.
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Immediate consultations.
Booking and reviewing appointments.
Remote appointments.
Search for medication.
Digital Health Wallet.
Review sick leaves and medical reports.
Women's health.
Dependents’ services.
A doctor for each family member(My Doctor).
Record of children's vaccinations and appointments
Following-up vital signs (Know Your Numbers service).
Counting steps.
Saving a list of medicines.
Educational content.
COVID-19 screening appointment.
COVID-19 vaccines appointment.
Vaccinations appointment
Early warning of weather conditions for asthmatics.
Challenges and areas for improvement
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Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any statistics about the use of Sehhaty in Saudi Arabia. If you have access to this information or can put us in touch with someone who has, please contact us at book@patientsknowbest.com
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Bibliography
Almodhen, F. and Moneir, W.M., 2023. Toward a Financially Sustainable Healthcare System in Saudi Arabia. Cureus, 15(10). Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10632744/
Dawood, A. M., & Alkadi, K. S. (2022). Evaluating Usability of Telehealth Sehhaty Application Used in Saudi Arabia During Covid-19. Studies in health technology and informatics, 295, 285–288. https://doi.org/10.3233/SHTI220718
Gurajala, S., 2023. Healthcare System in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: An Expat Doctor's Perspective. Cureus, 15(5). Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10250784/
Joseph, S. A. (2022, September 2). Saudi Arabia picks Sehhaty app as national e-platform for healthcare services. GCC Business News. Available at: https://www.gccbusinessnews.com/saudi-arabia-picks-sehhaty-app-as-national-e-platform-for-healthcare-services/. (Accessed: 1 November 2023).
Ministry of Health. (26 February 2023). "Sehhaty" Platform, 2021. Partnership Agreement with ‘Lean’. Available at: https://www.moh.gov.sa/en/eServicesMinistry/SehhatyPartnerships/Pages/defaultLean-Company.aspx. (Accessed: 1 November 2023).Wikipedia contributors.
(2024). Healthcare in Saudi Arabia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Ministry of Health,2023. "Sehhaty" Platform. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Saudi_Arabia . (Accessed: 1 November 2023).https://www.moh.gov.sa/en/MinistryeServices/PartnershipsSehhaty/Pages/Lean-Companydefault.aspx. (Accessed: 1 November 2023).