During its fifth meeting, held yesterday (Saturday) at the MOH headquarters, the Executive Board of Health, headed by His Excellency Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, Minister of Health, adopted the (Medical Staff Bylaws: Rules & Regulations), along with the Integrated Electronic Disease Surveillance System (for infectious diseases and epidemics); according to Dr. Khaled bin Mohammed Merghalani, MOH spokesperson. At the beginning of the meeting, Al-Rabeeah held talks with the MOH senior staff over the priorities of the budget proposed for the Ministry for the next year (1433/1434H). He also verified the validity and efficiency of the mechanism at work, which played a significant role in the preparation of the draft budget, based on sound scientific grounds, conforming to the instructions governing the preparation of the budget, and meeting the Ministry's needs and requirements.
According to the mechanism applied in the preparation of the General State Budget, the Ministry's budget passes through three stages. During the first stage, starting in the middle of the second quarter of the fiscal year, reports are gathered from all health departments, regions and provinces, so as to estimate their financial needs of the upcoming year, depending on the forms designated for this purpose. Then, in the second stage, the incoming data is collected, checked, reviewed, and ensured to be conformable to the Integrated and Comprehensive National Health Care Project, as well as the five-year development plans, in preparation for including such data in the an integrated project for the Ministry at large. The third stage involves the submission of the project to Ministry's Budget Committee and Executive Board, and making the necessary adjustments and amendments, in preparation for discussing it in the Ministry of Finance, with the participation of representatives of the competent MOH departments. After that, the spokesperson added, the Board reviewed the outlines of the work of the Quality Committee, emanating from the Board. In this context, the Board underscored the importance spreading and promoting the culture of quality in all the MOH facilities, and complying with the quality standards and criteria. He went on to say that the quality standards put forward by the Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions are being applied in (60) MOH hospitals, as well as (100) primary health care centers, throughout the Kingdom. The spokesman stated, besides, that the Board has also considered the Strategic Plan for Medical Rehabilitation, which aims to help the injured person restore the highest possible degree of functional performance (both physical and mental), by means of using the medical skills and capabilities that diminish the deficit ration, or eliminate it if possible.
The Board drew attention to reviewing the plan in light of the Integrated and Comprehensive National Health Care Project and the MOH Strategic Plan. Dr. Merghalani revealed, in addition, that the Board, under the Chairmanship of the Ministry of Health, has also adopted the (Medical Staff Bylaws: Rules & Regulations). This term refers to the set of rules, regulations and systems governing the work of physicians and dentists in all MOH facilities, with a view to providing a fixed standard of effective, efficient, high-quality and universally accepted health care for inpatients, and all those receiving treatment at the Ministry's hospitals; depending on the resources available for the Ministry, provided by the Kingdoms for its citizens.
Merghalani pointed out that these rules and regulations are expected to be put into action two months after adopting, reviewing and making them legally compatible with the medical practice regulations. Such rules and regulations comprise the general organizational framework governing medical practices in all the Ministry's health facilities. Moreover, the application of these regulations will provide a legal coverage for all workers in this field. Needless to say, it aims in the first place at improving the quality of health care services offered at the MOH facilities, level of performance, and, above all, ensuring patient safety.
In conclusion, Merghalani disclosed that the Executive Board of Health, Dr. Al-Rabeeah being its chairman, has also adopted the Integrated Electronic Disease Surveillance System, and issued instructions to coordinate with the Laboratories and Blood Banks General Department, as well as the Health Affairs General Directorate, in Makkah, with the purpose of embarking on the implementation and bringing about the desired integration between the competent authorities. The aim of this project is to improve the individual and community health, by means of enhancing preventive measures against diseases, and providing high-quality health service in due time.
The Electronic Disease Surveillance System is intended to ensure facilitating the real-time monitoring of infectious diseases throughout the Kingdom, help detect epidemics early. The project will be beneficial, also, in following up of vaccine storage, and monitoring expiry dates. Meanwhile, the program will be linked to a program developed by the Ministry of Interior, aiming to promote the accuracy of the information relevant to the citizen and resident through the Identity Card or Resident Card. The program will be implemented in stages, starting from Makkah region, and extending to cover the entire Kingdom over the following three years.