The Ministry of Health (MoH) has decided to pay allowances to patients and their caregivers who are treated away from their home town or abroad. The payments will only be made after approval from the General Medical Commission. A report in Al-Madina Arabic daily quoted an informed source as saying that the ministry has decided to give patients getting treatment abroad SR1,500 and the same amount to their caregivers. This amount will be given to patients by Saudi missions in the country where they are undergoing medical treatment, according to the informed source. Patients who receive medical treatment abroad and their caregivers will get SR300 daily. If the patient is hospitalized, the allowance will be suspended temporarily, the informed source added. The same source said that patients who receive medical treatment outside their local regions, and their attendants will get SR150 each time the patient goes for a medical appointment. If the patient is hospitalized, the allowance will be suspended temporarily while it will continue to be given to the caregivers. Miscellaneous expenses paid by the patient from the issue date of the decision will be reimbursed. The patient will be asked in writing to submit a report about the hospital visits. A statement of allowances should be sent to the Directorate of Health Affairs for approval and then sent to the MoH which will deposit the allowance in the patient's bank account. Travel tickets for patients will be issued when the treating hospital sends a fax to the ministry, the newspaper said.
