The Ministry of Health (MOH) has launched today the (e-health) application to facilitate access to visual medical consultations on smartphones. In so doing, MOH seeks to employ cutting-edge technologies to enhance effective communication with service-beneficiaries, and to allow them to get the needed specialized medical consultations.
According to MOH, the first stage of using the new App. will cover Northern Borders, Asir, Tabuk, Jazan, Najran and Al-Jouf Health Affairs. Then, the App. will be used across the Kingdom, by Allah's Leave.
The App. is designed to enable audio-video communication from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m. during working days, as well as weekends from 1 p.m. to 12 a.m. Accordingly, users can login into the application, communicate directly with a specialist, and have their cases diagnosed through the application. Hence, the specialist answers users' inquiries, provides the needed medical consultation and the necessary medical procedure.
Notably, MOH has recently launched a number of quality service programs to develop work mechanisms and to boost performance. This will in turn help improve health services provided to citizens and secure their satisfaction. The App. is free, and can be downloaded on google play and the App store.
It is also noteworthy that MOH has recently implemented the (e-health) initiative, as part of 40 initiatives within the 2020 National Transformation Program, whereby MOH aims to enhance healthcare effectively and efficiently through adopting IT and digital transformation, in order to provide all with unified medical e-records by 2020.
Under this new initiative, the system supports health professionals, physicians and nurses, by providing them with patient information anytime anywhere, including all documented health information. They will also receive the required clinical and administrative support. Users will be able to communicate with specialists and get the needed medical consultation remotely. This new App. is expected to reduce medical and diagnostic errors, as well as their incurred side effects. The new App. will also enhance online continued medical education.
MOH's vision focuses on developing healthcare across the Kingdom, in terms of quality, standards and equality. To secure this vision, MOH has developed a strategy and a five-year action plan to make e-health a key factor in service delivery and development. Therefore, MOH has developed the e-health strategy and the five-year action plan in collaboration with Saudi and global consultants. The e-health strategy supports MOH's key objectives, including patient care, connecting service providers with all healthcare levels, measuring the performance of healthcare service delivery, and transforming healthcare services in line with internationally recognized health standards.