RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's healthcare sector is rapidly moving to become more advanced by setting international standard benchmarks that offer best quality healthcare to the people in the Kingdom, said a high-ranking official of multinational IT solutions company participating in the 3rd Annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Middle East Conference and Health IT Leadership Summit that opened in Riyadh, Monday. Over 30 international and national experts are participating in the two-day conference to discuss the optimal use of information technology and management systems for the advancement of healthcare and improved integration and deployment of healthcare IT systems in Saudi Arabia. Greg White, Vice-President and Managing Director of Cerner, Middle East, Africa and India, a multinational company that transforms healthcare by implementing IT solutions for healthcare providers said the MoH has announced the relaunching of its ambitious e-health program under which about 220 hospitals and 2,000 primary healthcare centers (PHCs) will be automated. “All hospitals under MoH supervision throughout the country and 2,000 PHCs will be automated to create the ability for people not only to have electronic medical records inside the individual hospitals but also the ability to have the information move from hospital to hospital and PHCs,” he said. During the conference, Cerner demonstrated Cerner Smart Room, an innovative hospital room system that provides real-time health data, automated infusion, bidirectional communications between medical devices and electronic medical records, and secondary alerts, among other things. The Cerner Smart Room is a system that bridges the gap between medical devices and patient information. In demonstration of valued partnership Cerner featured King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH/RC) at its conference booth. Healthcare spending in the Kingdom is expected to exceed SR13 billion in 2013 as the country's growing population demand access to better healthcare. The Saudi government's 2011 allocation of SR68.7 billion for healthcare services and social development is spurring key partnership deals with healthcare vendors, suppliers and service providers. The automated care system in particular is expanding due in part to the Kingdom's strong information technology base. Factors such as new regulatory policies for medical equipment and supplies and the need for 750 new polyclinics over the next 10 years are driving demand for more advanced medical devices in the Kingdom even further. “Technology is extensively used throughout Saudi Arabia's key industries, so it should also be tapped in one of the Kingdom's most important sectors, the healthcare. There are many major local health issues such as obesity and diabetes that need enhanced methods of detection, prevention and care, especially in terms of patient health information management,” he said. He said automated care is an important component in Saudi government's efforts to maintain its status as one of the Middle East's most health-oriented countries, said White. White said Cerner, a developer of information management systems geared towards healthcare, is ready to demonstrate cutting-edge technologies for critical care, medical emergencies, women's health and clinical documentation. “It is clear that the interest and the intent would be to plan for all those hospitals to achieve quality healthcare, continuity of standards, the electronic sharing of information are kept at a very high level,” he said. “I would say the MoH vision for quality healthcare is very impressive that's going on for a long-term project with determination to create proper standards,” he said. Once the e-sharing program is completed the Kingdom's healthcare would be of high international standard, he said. He said he has been discussing the potential of automated care systems with the MoH officials to enhance the Saudi healthcare landscape. “We will be partnering with MoH to provide electronic medical records within the hospitals and also the connectivity from hospital to hospital through regions,” he said. “The intent is to complete the e-sharing program within nine years with full deployment of e-file and e-medical records in all 220 hospitals and 2,000 PHCs,” he said. Speaking about the IT readiness in the Kingdom medical sector, he said based on conversations with MoH officials the sector would be described to have a 20 percent at low end and 20 percent high end while the remaining 60 percent are in the middle. The training in the IT area will be a key element to the implementation of national e-health program for medical professionals in departments such as critical care, emergency, surgery, pediatric and cardiac units, he said. “So the training for the medical staff based on specialty would be different,” he said. He said the e-sharing standard would also allow the public-private sector hospitals to exchange patient's information.
