eHealth, as defined by the World Health Organization, is the combined use of electronic communication and information technology in the health sector. Countries around the world are adopting eHealth to improve health care delivery and planning. The drivers for eHealth investments and adoption are based on providing clinical value and supporting business needs. The MOH has a business strategy and a number of business objectives and initiatives which can be enabled by eHealth.
The heart of all eHealth Strategies is a focus on Patient centric care, as shown in the following diagram.
The following sections of this document will describe the significant benefits that will be provided to Patients, Providers (Doctors Nurses and other health care professionals), and Health System Managers. Today’s Healthcare delivery is characterized by islands of non-sharable patient data. The MOH eHealth Strategy is designed to support making comprehensive patient management a reality in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.