The Ministry of Health (MOH) has provided Home Medicine Services for more than 45083 patients at all regions and provinces of the Kingdom, since the inception of the program in Rabie II 1430H, until end of the last year, 1435H.
Meanwhile, MOH explained that Home Healthcare Program (Home Medicine) has been acclaimed and widely adopted by a lot of patients and their families, the matter which encouraged patients-oriented programs, as it aimed at providing medical services (health-related, therapeutic, preventive, rehabilitative, nutritional, awareness and social) which are provided to the patients among their families at home, through a medical crew qualified for such purpose based on the patient health status via scheduled visits.
In a similar fashion, MOH pointed out that the number of the new cases recorded during the fourth quarter of that last year amounted to 2446 cases, and that number of cases receiving service currently reached 26120 cases, while the accumulative total number of the finished cases amounts to 21545, thus bringing the accumulative total number of the beneficiaries of the program amounts to 45083 cases, and the accumulative total number of the visits since the inception of the program amounts to one million visit at a rate of 100%.
Likewise, the Ministry said that hospitals which apply the program amount to 192 hospitals at all health the regions of the Kingdom, and the total number of the program's employees in all regions is 1509 including physicians, specialists, Administrative staff and drivers, while number of the medical crews from hospitals to patients' homes reached 323, as 374 vehicles are dedicated for the movement of the medical crews and their medical requirements while conducting home visits to provide Home Medicine Services for the patients.
Additionally, MOH indicated that it has secured medical equipments and supplies for the patients based on patient's requirement and his health condition, in addition to securing all the medical forms used in the program activities amounting to 25 to be included in the patients file in the hospital and his home file.
It is noteworthy that MOH has introduced Home Medicine Program to provide affordable health care for patients at their homes, via qualified medical teams. The program is reckoned a complementary to the services provided by the hospitals, in addition the program makes it easier for the patient's family to follow-up their patients until restoring their well-being without suffering. In addition to that the program helps provide beds in the hospitals for the new patients who are in chronic need of them. It also targets those who are in need for palliative care, psychological care, diabetes patients, patients with clinical ulcers and injuries and those who are in need of gavage or patients with neurological injuries and strokes.
Still, the cases of aging diseases, either mental or physical, for example, accounted for 18% of the total cases receiving domestic medical care. Out of these diseases, the of the cardiovascular system diseases accounted to 17%, mental diseases 13%, strokes and paralysis 10%, and cancers 1%. The rest of the pathological groups are in varied proportions. The program is based on a set of activities and medical services (therapeutic, preventive, rehabilitative, awareness and social) which are provided to certain categories of patients among their families at home, as per specific criteria and mechanism of action, through a medical crew qualified for such purpose.