In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon his prophet Muhammad, the seal of the prophets and messengers.
It is no secret that the supply chain is of great importance and plays a central role in any facility, and in the Ministry of Health (MOH) as well. This chain consists of several interconnected rings, starting from the planning for the health facilities’ needs of medical and non-medical supplies and other services, passing by tenders, industrialization, transportation and storage, down to the consumption at hospitals and health facilities.
There are several elements to ensure success of supply through this chain; most prominently the qualified human and security resources that should show a great deal of integrity and responsibility. The other important element in such chain is the new technology that facilitates achieving works faster and more accurately.
Thanks to the MOH wonderful work team, a study has recently been conducted to evaluate all procedures adopted at each of the departments of medical supplies, medical equipment, and procurements and contracts, in addition to their relations with the Kingdom's regions and suppliers, including manufacturers, their agents, and the procurement agents participating in tendering for government. By careful reviewing for each step taken at all stages of the supply chain, many observations have been recorded and some recommendations put forward, based on the best procedures adopted in the supply chain in outstanding health facilities inside and outside the Kingdom, taking into account the possibility of implementing these recommendation and whether they are contradictory to the government procurement regulations or not.
Upon the approval of His Excellency the Minister of Health, the recommendations were put into effect in the form of parallel tracks. The MOH is expected to gain a lot of benefits from the implementation of such recommendations, including reducing paperwork, improving quality and speed of delivery, tracking the actual inventory in warehouses and consumption areas, estimating the needs of health regions and centers for materials and services in more accurate and realistic manner. They also include making use of the international standards to unify and classify the materials and applications of the new technology such as barcode, e-archiving, early warnings, auto link with suppliers, and performance indicators to make the supply chain smooth and efficient.
We are praying for Almighty Allah to help us and our esteemed colleagues at the agency and other concerned departments implement such transformations, in order to see their positive outcomes in such a manner reflecting on the health services provided for patients, in line with the expectations and support of our wise leadership, all praise be to Allah firstly and lastly.
Assistant Deputy Minister for Supply and Contracts
Dr. Abdullah bin Ali Al-Ahmari