The Ministry of Health (MOH) has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Saudi Telecom Company (STC); with a view to enhancing cooperation between the two parties in related work of «Ibtikar» Unit’s initiatives, discussing ways to develop «Ibtikar» Unit for Tele-health Technologies in MOH Virtual Medical Center, in addition to cooperation In localization technologies used in medical technology domain. The agreement, also, aims at piloting technologies and supporting expertise in the areas of business intelligence solutions, artificial intelligence, fifth generation services and emerging technologies, as well as exploring ways to sustain projects and boost their spending efficiency through modern technologies.
The agreement included the establishment of a center for innovation in virtual healthcare technologies, and making the virtual hospital its headquarters. This center comes as part of the partnership between both sectors, and could be included under the umbrella of «Shareek» Program, which has recently been launched by His Highness the Crown Prince; and achieved a number of strategic goals, most notably the localization of technology, and achieving spending efficiency, in addition to the contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.
It is noted that the agreement has been signed by Eng. Mona Al-Subaie, the Digital Health Advisor to Assistant Minister of Health & CEO of Digital Health Center for Excellence, and Mr. Faisal Al Bakri, the Vice President of STC Government Sales Sector.