As Covid19 spread fast around the world, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia deployed digital technologies and solutions that transformed the healthcare delivery mechanism. The innovations and adoption of technology which was triggered by the pandemic still continues. The delivery of digital health services to all the people in the Saudi Kingdom is one of the main aims of the “Vision 2030” document prepared by the government.
Covid pandemic has also changed the way of government interaction with private and public companies to implement and provide digital technologies and solutions. The health sector in the Kingdom is projected to reach $734.45 million in 2022 – an annual growth rate (CAGR 2022-2026) of 8.67%. By 2026, the volume of growth in the sector is projected to be $1,024.39m. The average revenue per user (ARPU) is also expected to amount to $35.10.
What is Helping the Growth of the Digital Health Sector in the Saudi Arabian Kingdom
The clear-cut policies that have the vision to achieve well-defined targets are providing a boost in the transformation.
Implementation of electronic medical records (EMR) at all hospitals in the Kingdom is one of the core aims of Vision 2030. Whenever there is a health crisis, both patients and doctors can access EMRs from their homes and provide healthcare, including vaccinations, to vulnerable patients at home.
• As MoH adopts Integrated Care Systems (ICS) and e-health strategy, the Kingdom is going to benefit from these advancements for years to come, states a report by KPMG Al Fozan & Partners. It involves further investments in the sector as the digital health concepts expand and more global technologies are introduced in the country, providing opportunities for companies focused on the area.
• The focus of the Digital Health Strategy is to prevent fragmented use of technology to prevent inefficiencies and wasteful use of limited resources. The Strategy, as it is overarching, creates the right conditions for the MoH digital health ecosystem to evolve with enough freedom to make independent decisions. The strategy is to enable the MoH digital ecosystem to interact with all the other similar ecosystems across the Saudi Kingdom.
During the pandemic, the MoH in Saudi Arabia has already made use of some of the technologies for the benefit of the people and healthcare professionals.
Some of the Notable Instances are:
• The “Tawakkalna App” platform can be used to get the exact number of Covid suspected and confirmed Covid cases in the kingdom.
• Rest Assured “Tetamman App“, which delivers healthcare to citizens under home isolation. The app helped the people under quarantine to recover faster with timely advice and care.
• “SEHA App”, allows patients to access the services of doctors and specialists through chats, calls, and video calls, avoiding the necessity of physically meeting them.
• The “Mawid App“, allows patients to book appointments at primary health centers.
• The “Mawared app“, is an enterprise resource planning solution and an official channel to apply for leave by government and private sector employees.
As it is quite evident, the country aims to solidify a digital ecosystem that dedicatedly serves the healthcare segment. Going forward, it can be expected that more such innovations will continue in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the post-Covid economy takes flight.
