Executive Summary
The Saudi healthcare sector has experienced strong growth fueled by government and private investment. The ministry of health’s (MOH) vision and mission are aligned with the country’s desire to provide integrated quality care to all citizens. In this report, the PESTEL tool shows a favorable macro-environment and SWOT analysis of the MOH reveal specific strengths – high budget, strong growth, and skilled workforce – and weaknesses – inadequate local professionals and overdependence on medical imports. Opportunities exist in long-term care (LTC) and pilgrimage health, while private competitors and staff turnover are threats. Using various matrices such as internal environment evaluation, specific objectives and strategies are recommended to drive organizational growth.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) oversees priority public health matters in the country, including comprehensive healthcare, disease control, and dental care services. As a result, it is well funded by the government. The modern MOH was created in 1950 through a royal decree to replace the Public Health Council founded in the 1940s to supervise all hospitals and healthcare personnel in KSA. The important milestones achieved in its history include the decentralization of healthcare to 20 districts and the establishment of the national insurance agency in 2018. It dominates the healthcare market, although private providers’ share of spending – through private-public partnerships (PPPs) – is rising. The key features of this industry include a high number of accredited private hospitals, a shift to digital health, and reliance on imported medical supplies. This report provides an analysis of Saudi’s MOH and recommends strategic choices for achieving organizational objectives.
Vision and Mission Statement
The MOH has the mandate of providing healthcare to all citizens. Its strategic vision is to deliver “best quality integrated and comprehensive healthcare services” through its programs and policies (Ministry of Health, 2020, para. 2). This declaration captures MOH’s priorities but does not indicate the target population. A good vision statement should be simple and specific, reflecting what an organization wants to become (David, 2011). Therefore, an alternative vision would be to provide unparalleled integrated and cost-effective healthcare for all citizens and communities. Its mission statement reads: “the provision of healthcare at all levels, promotion of general health and prevention of diseases, in addition to developing laws and regulations” for the sector (Ministry of Health, 2020, para. 4). It identifies the scope of MOH’s operations and priorities but does not include its values. A suggested mission statement is to arouse hope and promote wellbeing by delivering quality preventive and clinical care to all citizens and regulating healthcare services in KSA.
PESTEL and SWOT Analysis
Table 1: PESTEL Analysis
Table 2: SWOT Analysis
Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM)
The profile of the major competitors of MOH and their strengths and weaknesses is presented in Table 3 below. Four rating values are used. They include 1 and 2 that represent main and minor weaknesses and 3 and 4 that denote major and insignificant strengths, respectively (David, 2011). From the CPM, the Armed Forces Medical Service is the weakest competitor with an aggregate score of 2.00.
Table 3: Competitive Profile Matrix
External Factor Evaluation (EFE)
EFE evaluates the key factors identified through the macro-environment analysis. They include opportunities and threats to the organization (David, 2011). The EFE matrix relevant to MOH is presented in Table 4 below. The total weighted score of 2.75 is above the average value of 2.5. Thus, the healthcare sector is performing well, capitalizing on opportunities and evading threats.
Table 4: EFE Matrix for MOH
Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) Matrix
The IFE tool quantifies the internal environment factors relevant to an entity. These factors are the strengths and weaknesses identified through SWOT analysis. The IFE matrix for MOH is presented in Table 5 below. The average weighted score of 2.50 implies that MOH’s strengths are a strategic advantage.
Table 5: IFE Matrix for MOH
Recommendations
Recommended Long-term Objectives
MOH has unique strengths that drive its performance. Opportunities in the long-term care segment exist due to a projected 9.5% increase in the number of people aged over 65 by 2035 and a high prevalence of obesity (Alomran, 2019). Therefore, MOH should align itself to meet future health needs of the citizens. The recommended strategic objectives include:
- To expand bed space to 20,000 by 2025 across KSA public hospitals with a particular focus on long-term care (LTC) facilities and nursing homes;
- Increase primary care clinics and diagnostic centers by 10% by 2022 to meet the demand for medical services by the increasing population;
- To hire 10% more trained local personnel, including nurses and dentists, by 2022 to drive MOH’s mission.
Recommended Strategies
Two strategies can be generated from the SWOT analysis: investing in workforce training and development (partnership with medical schools) and forming strategic alliances with medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical firms. These actions will address MOH’s current weaknesses and prepare it for future growth in the sector. The recommended strategies based on the BCG matrix are hospital consolidation at each district to provide economies of scale in quality and LTC care and PPPs to expand primary care clinics to community settings. Based on the IFE matrix three alignment strategies are recommended. They include joint ventures with specialists and hiring skilled expatriate doctors.
Anticipated Issues
MOH has opened new facilities across KSA to meet the rising demand for healthcare in KSA. A management issue foreseen is a decline in quality care due to limited skilled workforce and turnover. Devolving personnel planning to the districts is recommended to enhance staff efficiency and satisfaction. MOH being a public not-for-profit entity, may not invest much in marketing. Ranking hospitals based on quality metrics is recommended to promote high-performing hospitals. A potential finance/accounting issue relates to disbursements to hospitals. Allowing facilities to procure medical supplies based on individual needs is recommended. MOH’s dependence on imported medical supplies may stifle R&D efforts. Strategic alliances with pharmaceutical firms in research will help address this issue. CIS issues may include unauthorized access to patient information and cyber-attacks. Adopting tighter securing controls is recommended to resolve these problems.
Recommended Procedures
- Strategy review – examining the bases of the strategic choices (MOH’s internal and external position);
- Evaluation – it will involve a comparison of expected and achieved results against the set objectives (bed capacity, facilities, and trained personnel yearly) to inform corrective actions;
- Control – regular audits of MOH facilities.
Reference List
Alomran, M 2019, ‘Implementation of strategic management practices in the healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia’, International Journal of Business and Administrative Studies, (5)3, pp. 131-144.
David, FR 2011, Strategic management: concepts and cases. 13th edn. Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Ministry of Health 2020, About the ministry, Web.