- Promising initiatives target the improvement of therapeutic results, in line with the MOH's commitment to patients, by prioritizing healthcare provision, through the initiative dubbed: “Patient First”.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has announced a number of professional initiatives in these fields: training, quality and information technology (IT). By adopting such initiatives, the Ministry seeks to promote the existing potentials and capabilities, with particular emphasis on developmental and training programs, and exchanging experiences in concordance with the Kingdom's Health Care Strategy meant to enhance human resources and potentials.
Such initiatives come within the framework of colossal efforts made by the Ministry of Health in its quest for the development of health services and improvement of health facilities, as well as enhancing the proficiency of its employees. In this spirit, the Ministry has paid close attention to the aspects of training and scholarships. It has raised the budget allocated to these aspects from SR 150 million to SR 350 million over the past three budgets. Training programs have covered all medical, technical and administrative cadres. The newly adopted initiatives aim, also, to find practical solutions to all challenges facing the Saudi health sector. One of the major objectives appointed to the initiatives, also, is to heighten the national health care standards, in concordance with the MOH's trends targeting patients' satisfaction, and preserving their health and safety, as well as improving the health services provided for them, under the theme: “Patient First”.
His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, and the CEO of General Electric (GE), Jeffery Immelt, have unfolded the details of the initiative during their meeting held on Sunday at the Minister's office. They agreed on the following:
- Establishing the Medical Learning & Simulation Center in Riyadh, to present best-quality training curricula to Saudi health care experts.
- Planning for cooperation to set up the MOH Performance Improvement Unit, to provide its services for all MOH facilities throughout the Kingdom.
- Studying the available opportunities relevant to the development and application of new integrated standards for the Saudi e-healthcare.
- Conducting ongoing and effective evaluation of the possibility of developing specific medical devices, in line with the Kingdom's needs and demands.
This partnership comes in line with the health care strategy launched by the Ministry of Health, essentially based upon the following:
Adopting the approach of integrated and comprehensive health care, with particular emphasis on the research and educational aspects.
Attracting qualified cadres and developing human resources.
Giving rise to the institutional work culture, raising quality level and performance monitoring.
Developing e-health and information systems.
Maintaining optimal exploitation of resources, and applying healthcare economics and studying how to finance them.
In this context, His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, said, “The Ministry of Health will continue to pursue its ambitious plans targeting the development of healthcare infrastructure. And seeking to reiterate the Ministry's keen interest in carry out its programs meant to develop manpower, the MOH Training Center. The number of trainees in 1432H was 132802 employees of both genders, on the various training activities and programs, in addition to training 600 physicians and nurses on how to treat patients better.”
Jeffery Immelt, for his part, was quoted as saying, “Allow me to take this opportunity to thank the Saudi Ministry of Health for the colossal support and appreciated confidence in GE's promising potentials and significant contributions that could be brought into effect in the Saudi health sector. These initiatives have been approved with a view to realizing the Ministry's vision aiming to develop an ongoing health care model covering the Kingdom's all regions, and, accordingly, providing better healthcare services for as much patients as possible. The initiatives have been particularly designed in such a way that meets the ever increasing demand of innovative health care solutions in the Kingdom, in concordance with the Saudi health care strategy, thus achieving the objectives of the ninth development plan.”
The strategic memorandum of understanding revealed more details about the initiatives, which are:
First: Medical Learning & Simulation Center:
This center is specialized in medical education and simulation. It will be the first of its kind throughout the Kingdom. It will be established in partnership between King Fahad Medical City (KFMC) and General Electric Co. (GE). The center is prepared to be the Middle East's leading supplier of the state-of-the-art healthcare educational and training programs. It will provide training courses and programs in clinical, technological and administrative, depending on the real curricula of training and simulation appropriate for the health sector's processes. The training program is expected to include courses for nursing (both online and at classrooms), in addition to continuing medical educational courses, and other courses meant to raise trainees' awareness of the latest medical developments, as well as courses on physiology, and quality administration for healthcare experts. It is projected that the center will be accomplished by the advent of 2014.
Second: MOH Performance Improvement Unit:
This unit is meant to study all the potentials and possibilities of improving hospitals' performance of the operational process, and giving rise to the culture of quality, thus realizing the slogan: “Patient First”. It is meant to enhance the efficiency of all MOH hospitals and healthcare centers throughout the Kingdom. Based on the LEAN Six Sigma form, along with adopting a methodology meant to bring about a positive paradigm shift in administration, the unit, in the beginning, will study the potentials of improving performance in the health sector over five years. Ten consultant physicians will be trained on improving MOH performance, to oversee the unit's work. In doing so, the unit is looking forward to adopting the best and most advanced practices and operational processes, to the advantage of patients receiving treatment at MOH hospitals, placing particular emphasis on the exchange of skills and experiences, with a view to entrenching the culture of performance improvement at the local level.
Among the crucial objectives appointed to this unit is to achieve cost efficiency, in addition to raising the quality of the work process, thus maintaining patients' satisfaction, and expanding the scope of specific medical services to cover as many people as possible. The unit will initially focus on projects of performance improvement at operation rooms, proposed by GE's Performance Solutions Section. It is intended to proceed on the projects of emergency rooms development, currently implemented at this stage. To date, the section has successfully developed the operation rooms at 16 MOH hospitals, and 7 emergency sections, by providing the necessary tools and methods, with the aim to promote operational efficiency, quality and patient safety, thus improving clinical performance.
Third: E-Healthcare Standards Applicable to Integrative Operation Program:
This program will provide an integrative solution for the administration of patients' information records throughout the Kingdom. This, in turn, will lead facilitating the administration of patients affairs through the healthcare system, as well as enhancing the consistency of data, and making data transfer and exchange without violating privacy. It will also achieve integration among all the ingredients of the health care system, which is considered the major element in the MOH strategy meant to expand the scope of medical services targeting patient safety and service quality.
Fourth: Development of Medical Equipment Specifically Designed Meet to the Kingdom's Local Needs:
The Ministry is currently studying the possibilities and potentials of enhancing the development of medical equipment specifically designed to meet the Kingdom's local needs, relying on technological competencies internationally renowned for their innovative health care solutions.
It is basically intended to encourage the exchange of knowledge, with a view to promoting the skills of those specialized in the provision of healthcare services in the Kingdoms, and, accordingly, creating new jobs for Saudis.