His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, has launched the “Health Electronic Surveillance Network” (HESN) to control and manage infectious diseases and epidemics online, at the Emergency Tower in Mina.
Al-Rabeeah said the program would provide health workers and decision-makers with accurate information that enables them to offer high-level services. He noted the program would help control and reduce the possibility of the spread of infectious diseases such as influenza, as well as help track key vaccinations and offer public health services and primary health care.
His Excellency said the system would enhance the public health and contribute to the unification of efforts towards better health for individuals, families and communities, help set up uniform processes and health reports across the Kingdom, better the accuracy of data, and reduces the error margins among the divisions and facilities affiliated to the Ministry of Health.
He asserted that the Kingdom is the second country worldwide to apply the system after Canada, thereby it becomes a global paradigm for the strategic health vision.
The Deputy Minister of Health for Planning and Development, and Head of Hajj Preparatory Committees, Dr. Mohammed bin Hamza Khoshaim said the system is flexible and can be updated with the latest of the public health practices, policies and research, adding it would be implemented in the first phase at some health facilities in Mecca then all heath centers around KSA.
He said the system allows the user to create a new report form to enter new data on health cases not detected earlier and collect data according to the needs of the province, program or the case.
Dr. Ziad Memish, the Undersecretary of Public Health, said the goal of the system is to improve public health, as it cuts down the need for paperwork, and provide more accurate standards for collecting health and medical information, and increases the personal and professional skills of the staff.
His Excellency reviewed the results of the system rendered a few months back and inspected the satellite-operated digital map that locate heath facilities at hajj areas and tracks the ambulance vehicles movement and direct them to the nearest roads with least traffic leading to target sites. His Excellency also checked the digital fax service of patient transfer.
The system would support the objectives of the Ministry’s directorate of public health by securing better outputs, enhancing vaccination coverage, identifying public health issues, taking preventive measures to combat infectious diseases, and bettering the cooperation among the Ministry of Health facilities and relevant bodies.
It also lives up to the Ministry of Health initiative to develop its e-health scheme and the GCC infectious disease control program. The system is expected to have positive results, including signing up all patients and visitors to a nationwide information network that can be used by doctors to improve productivity, follow the performance of public health practitioners, better manage diseases and manage vaccines.