We all know that health care is a major issue in the Kingdom, with many shortcomings that need to be addressed both in the public and private sector. Correct me if I am wrong, but as far as I know, there is one major requirement in the system that is sadly lacking and which I believe should be paid attention to by medical schools, hospitals, clinics and doctors. What I am referring to is the practice of giving each patient a written medical report that can be used as reference for other doctors not situated in the same medical facility. It is, I believe, a patient's right and an integral part of their medical history and treatment path. I am sure that doctors are aware of this practice since most of them studied medicine in the US or Europe where this is a common practice.
Doctors need to use small digital voice recorders to instantly record their findings about the patient and their recommended treatment. Of course in order to facilitate this, doctors need medical secretaries and not just receptionists and nurses. To my knowledge, medical secretaries are actually nonexistent here in the Kingdom. The question is: Why is this important practice not commonplace and why are medical institutions ignoring this very important discipline and career path? I am sure that many young people would find this to be interesting and rewarding work.
However, it not just the lack of medical secretaries, but from what I have observed, doctors in Saudi Arabia are usually under a great deal of pressure to see as many patients as possible each day. Therefore, they arguably have precious little time to dictate letters or reports. Well, in my opinion, they must make the time.
On several occasions, I have gone to see a physician and requested a detailed report of his findings. Not because I needed a report for work, but because it is my right to have a clear written reference for other doctors that I need to see, either related to my medical condition or simply because I need a second opinion. Countless times my request for a report was either ignored or it took them forever to write it. It was as if I was requesting something unusual or unnecessary.
I am sure health care givers realize that providing medical reports would save so much time for both doctors and patients, instead of wasting time going over medical and treatment history, with the risk of missing out some vital information that the patient might forget to impart.
In fact, why not take advantage of the Internet, where another system could be implemented to ease the sharing of information about patients between health care facilities? A system could be created where doctors or their secretaries could simply add to a patient's medical file online. I know that this system is implemented internally in some hospitals here, but the idea would be to facilitate access to medical files to all hospitals and private clinics throughout the Kingdom.
Finally, whatever methods or systems doctors deem appropriate to use, one way or another medical reports should be part and parcel of health care in the Kingdom.
