Health care in Saudi Arabia is a national health care system in which the government provides free universal healthcare coverage through a number of government agencies. [1] There is also a growing role and increased participation from the private sector in the provision of health care services.
The Ministry of Health is the major government agency entrusted with the provision of preventive, curative and rehabilitative health care for the Kingdom's population. The Ministry provides primary health care services through a network of healthcare centers (comprising 1,925 centers) [2] throughout the kingdom. It also adopts the referral system which provides curative care for all members of society from the level of general practitioners at health centers to advanced technology specialist curative services through a broad base of general and specialist hospitals (220 hospitals). [2] The ministry is the lead Government agency responsible for the management, planning, financing and regulating of the health care sector. It also undertakes the overall supervision and follow-up of health care related activities carried out by the private sector.
There are also three other mini-NHS which finance and deliver primary, secondary and tertiary care to specific enrolled security and armed forces populations: the Ministry of Defense and Aviation, the Ministry of Interior and the Saudi Arabian National Guard. In addition to these agencies, there are several autonomous government agencies which are responsible for the delivery and financing of health care services in the kingdom. The Ministry of Education provides immediate primary health care to students. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs operates institutions for the mentally ill and custodial homes for orphans. These facilities provide their guests a certain amount of medical care. The General Organization for Social Insurance and General Presidency of Youth Welfare provide health services for certain categories of the population in connection with its management of sport facilities. The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu provides health facilities for employees and residents at the two industrial cities (Jubail and Yanbu). The Saudi Arabian Airlines operates its own health care facilities with the aim of providing health care services to its employees. The Kingdom's universities provide, through their medical colleges or hospitals, specialist curative services and medical education and training programs, while they also conduct health research in collaboration with other research centers.
The Government also finances and provides care on a referral basis in its major specialized national tertiary care referral hospitals King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center and King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital. The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center uses highly advanced technologies and act as a reference hospital for cases that require advanced and specialist treatment, while it also conducts research on health issues in general and those related to the Kingdom in particular. The King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital is designed to be a large health facility offering high quality specialized services for optometry, ophthalmology, eye surgery and medicine as well as being a regional research center in the area of ophthalmology. The hospital also has a cornea bank in which imported corneas are stored.
The ministry maintains the Saudi Health Office in London.
Budget allocated to the health sector by the Ministry of Health was in:
The private sector provides health services through its health facilities including hospitals, dispensaries, laboratories, pharmacies and physiotherapy centers throughout the kingdom. Provision by the private sector at the end of the year 2000:
Foreign investment in health is subject to the Private Health Institutes Law. Until 2019 this only permitted foreign ownership of hospitals, but now any kind of healthcare facility can be owned by foreign investors. [4]
Saudis and public sector expatriates are eligible for a comprehensive package of benefits including, public health, preventive, diagnostic, and curative services and pharmaceuticals with few exclusions and no cost sharing. Most services including state of the art cardio-vascular procedures, organ transplants, and cancer treatments (including bone marrow transplants) are covered. Sponsors/employers are responsible for paying for an extensive package of services for private sector expatriates.
Government prioritization of preventive healthcare and environmental health began in 1925 following the establishment a public health department. The decision to create it came after a royal decree from King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud. By 1926, the first school of nursing was opened, followed by the school of health and emergencies in 1927.
Health services expanded in 1951 with the establishment of the Ministry of Health. A ministerial ordinance in 1980 led to a conglomeration of the administration of the existing dispensaries, health centers, health offices and maternal and child health centers into one unit. By the end of the 1980s, there were 253 hospitals, 38,955 hospital beds and 1,640 primary health centers. The proportion of positions filled by Saudi nationals was low, with Saudi nationals representing 13% doctors (22,633 doctors), 11.2% nurses (45,840 nurses) and 38% health technicians (25,192 health technicians). In 1993, the total number of hospitals was 281, 41,789 hospital beds and 1,707 primary health centers and the positions filled by Saudi nationals increased to 22.7% doctors, 24.5% nursing staff and 41.8% health technicians.
In 2002, the Saudi health system was established by a Royal decree to insure the provision of comprehensive health care to the population of Saudi Arabia in a fair minded, affordable manner. In 2004, there were 1,848 primary health care centers and 200 hospitals. The Ministry of Health budget increased from 2.8% of the total National budget in 1970 to 6.4% in 2004. In 2006, there were 20.4 doctors and 35.4 nurses per 10,000 population. In 2008 there were 1925 health care centers throughout the kingdom and 220 hospitals which adopted the referral system which provided curative care for all members of society from the level of general practitioners at health care centers to antecedent technology specialist curative services through a broad base of general and specialist hospitals.
In 2005, health insurance was made compulsory for all non-Saudi nationals working in the country under the Cooperative Health Insurance Act. [5] [6] In 2008, this act was extended to include Saudi nationals working for the private sector. Enforcement of this compulsory coverage include fines for non-compliant companies and a refusal to renew working permits without insurance.
The healthcare industry is an aggregation and integration of sectors within the economic system that provides goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, and palliative care. It encompasses the creation and commercialization of products and services conducive to the preservation and restoration of well-being. The contemporary healthcare sector comprises three fundamental facets, namely services, products, and finance. It can be further subdivided into numerous sectors and categories and relies on interdisciplinary teams of highly skilled professionals and paraprofessionals to address the healthcare requirements of both individuals and communities.
Primary care is a model of health care that supports first-contact, accessible, continuous, comprehensive and coordinated person-focused care. It aims to optimise population health and reduce disparities across the population by ensuring that subgroups have equal access to services.
A public hospital, or government hospital, is a hospital which is government owned and is fully funded by the government and operates solely off the money that is collected from taxpayers to fund healthcare initiatives. In almost all the developed countries but the United States of America, and in most of the developing countries, this type of hospital provides medical care free of charge to patients, covering expenses and wages by government reimbursement.
The Ministry of Health is the ministry of the Government of Turkey responsible for proposing and executing the government policy on health, planning and providing healthcare and protecting consumers. Likewise, it is responsible for proposing and executing the government policy on social cohesion and inclusion, family, protection of minors, youth and of care for dependent or disabled persons. The Ministry is headquartered in the Bakanlıklar in Ankara.
Healthcare in the Netherlands is differentiated along three dimensions (1) level (2) physical versus mental and (3) short term versus long term care.
Healthcare in Algeria consists of an established network of hospitals, clinics, and dispensaries. The government provides universal health care.
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Kenya's health care system is structured in a step-wise manner so that complicated cases are referred to a higher level. Gaps in the system are filled by private and church run units.
Healthcare in Denmark is largely provided by the local governments of the five regions, with coordination and regulation by central government, while nursing homes, home care, and school health services are the responsibility of the 98 municipalities. Some specialised hospital services are managed centrally.
Tanzania has a hierarchical health system which is in tandem with the political-administrative hierarchy. At the bottom, there are the dispensaries found in every village where the village leaders have a direct influence on its running. The health centers are found at ward level and the health center in charge is answerable to the ward leaders. At the district, there is a district hospital and at the regional level a regional referral hospital. The tertiary level is usually the zone hospitals and at a national level, there is the national hospital. There are also some specialized hospitals that do not fit directly into this hierarchy and therefore are directly linked to the ministry of health.
Healthcare in Belgium is composed of three parts. Firstly, there is a primarily publicly funded healthcare and social security service run by the federal government, which organises and regulates healthcare; independent private/public practitioners, university/semi-private hospitals and care institutions. There are a few private hospitals. Secondly is the insurance coverage provided for patients. Finally, industry coverage; which covers the production and distribution of healthcare products for research and development. The primary aspect of this research is done in universities and hospitals.
Examples of health care systems of the world, sorted by continent, are as follows.
Government-guaranteed health care for all citizens of a country, often called universal health care, is a broad concept that has been implemented in several ways. The common denominator for all such programs is some form of government action aimed at broadly extending access to health care and setting minimum standards. Most implement universal health care through legislation, regulation, and taxation. Legislation and regulation direct what care must be provided, to whom, and on what basis.
The Ministry of Health, commonly abbreviated to MoH, is the ministry overseeing the health care and health policy of Saudi Arabia. The ministry is tasked with formulating strategies to ensure public health in the country, while also managing crucial health infrastructure.
King Fahad Specialist Hospital-Dammam (KFSHD) is a district general hospital in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia.
The Egyptian healthcare system is pluralistic, comprising a variety of healthcare providers from the public as well as the private sector. The government ensures basic universal health coverage, although private services are also available for those with the ability to pay. Due to social and economic pressures, Egypt's healthcare system is subject to many challenges. However, several recent efforts have been directed towards enhancing the system.
Healthcare in Azerbaijan is provided by public and private healthcare institutions and regulated through the Ministry of Healthcare.
The Ministry of Health is responsible for providing integrated preventive and curative health services, through a network of primary, secondary and tertiary health care facilities, in the Kingdom of Bahrain. These healthcare services are provided in coordination with other ministries, private sector and the community.
