The article by Al-Hanawi et al. (2019) discusses the current state of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia (KSA) health system. Although having experienced significant growth and development, propelling it into the top ranks of international health systems, there are numerous challenges yet to be addressed. Based on the Vision 2030 and National Transformation Program 2020, there are necessary changes that must be app1ied to the sector in order to sustain the kingdom’s population growth, increased ratio of the elderly population, and prevalence of chronic diseases. Currently, KSA has a below international average number of beds and number of doctors per 1000 population.
Some key objectives going forward are to increase the private sector’s share of spending and participation in the national health system by addressing under par financing and productivity to help with supporting KSA’s healthcare sector that is largely public/government-based. A second objective is to develop a healthcare labor force that is designed to handle the increase of non-communicable diseases (particularly in specialties such as family medicine). Finally, there is an increased need for skilled professionals in healthcare both in clinical medicine and healthcare management (Al-Hanawi et al., 2019). All of these require an increase in recruiting Saudi nationals to the sector as currently two-thirds of the workforce are non-Saudi citizens or maybe facing retirement.
These issues are largely supported by other studies. Other problems that arise include high costs of healthcare services due to inefficiency, inequitable access to services, concerns regarding quality and safety, as well as a highly centralized structure that actually leads to poor coordination among sectors of care (Al Asmri et al., 2019). Briefly mentioned, by Al-Hanawi et al. (2019), but generally overlooked is the importance of Primary Healthcare Services (PHC) which represent the first access level of care in the Saudi health system. While the Ministry of Health expenditure per capita has increased by 0.41%, KSA spends less on per-capita bases than most industrialized nations (Al-Hanawi et al., 2019). This is due to the finances and leaders focusing primarily on hospitals rather than primary health centers. Therefore, funds are on utilized efficiently, and the infrastructure of PHC struggling considerably behind hospitals. No healthcare system reform is effective without changes to the PHC as nations with efficient PHC as a cornerstone see successful healthcare along with changes in social determinants. PHC can effectively address the increasing burden of chronic and non-communicable diseases that do not require hospitalization. This is an area where the private sector can be brought in to address the needs of the healthcare system and population. Significant consideration must be given to public-private healthcare partnerships to develop a blended service delivery mechanism (Sajjad & Qureshi, 2017).
Furthermore, under the Ministry of Health National Transition Initiatives 2020, talent management has been adopted throughout different levels of the KSA healthcare sector. Specific policy exists on talent management development and training of professionals for the purpose of developing human resources specifically for the sector. These initiatives successfully focus on increasing the number of Saudi health care trainees and improving the quality of training by encompassing a number of existing medical professionals (Dayel et al., 2020). Currently, the Ministry of Health is undertaking various measures to decrease the hiring of foreign healthcare professionals and create room for Saudi nationals in the sectors. Research and models indicate a positive tendency towards an increase of Saudi doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and support staff. Furthermore, with the modernization of the health system and new technologies, automation in many aspects of healthcare administration and performance management is a viable reality, at which point training and development of healthcare professionals and PHC would take center stage, further fulfilling the objectives for the 2030 National Transformation Plan (Sajjad & Qureshi, 2017).
References
Al-Hanawi, M. K., Khan, S. A., & Al-Borie, H. M. (2019). Healthcare human resource development in Saudi Arabia: emerging challenges and opportunities—a critical review.Public Health Reviews, 40(1). Web.
Owais Qureshi, M., & Sajjad, R. (2017). A Study of Integration of Robotics in the Hospitality Sector and Its Emulation in the Pharmaceutical Sector.Health Science Journal, 11(1). Web.