In a qualitative shift with the Saudi 2030 Vision, an in a record time of no more than two months, using the cutting-edge technology in health services, the Ministry of Health (MoH) is expanding its telemedicine services. In so doing, the (e-health) - Seha - App will cover all the Kingdom. The App provides visual medical consultations and allows all citizens anywhere to have face-to-face medical consultations with their doctors across the Kingdom.
MoH seeks to secure more users of the App to enable them more significantly to access visual medical consultations on their smartphones. Also, MoH endeavors to employ cutting-edge technologies to enhance effective communication with service-beneficiaries, and to allow them get the needed specialized medical consultations.
The App is designed to enable audio-video communication from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. during working days, as well as weekends from 4 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, then 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. MoH has also 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. 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 support 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.