Mohammed Sindi, CEO of Philips Healthcare Saudi Arabia in an interview with
Arabian Business, the most prominent findings of the Future Health Index report regarding the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
He says: “The Future Health Index 2021 report on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia explores the ways that the leaders of the healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia are adopting to meet current needs and build a resilient future.
Despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impediment to developing future plans, 99% of the healthcare sector leaders look with great optimism at the healthcare system in the Kingdom, and 86% of them trust the ability of hospitals and their healthcare facilities to provide high-quality health services during the upcoming three years.
We are pleased to see how confident the leaders of the healthcare sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are in the healthcare system used and health facilities and their ability to provide high-quality healthcare services.
The leaders of the healthcare sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia indicated that the investments of hospitals and healthcare facilities are currently focused on digital health technologies represented by telemedicine, but these investments are expected to witness a radical transformation during the next three years, as 98% of the respondents reported the transformation of Their focus is to invest in artificial intelligence in the future.
While 71% of respondents would like to invest in AI-based digital technologies in health, such as those used to predict outcomes or integrate diagnostic procedures in the future.
The findings of the Future Health Index 2021 report demonstrate the resilience and commitment of healthcare leaders in Saudi Arabia to building sustainable, patient-centered healthcare systems outside the hospital.
Leaders of the healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia expect that over the next three years, about a quarter of routine medical services will be provided outside hospitals.
It is expected that the number of ambulatory care centers will increase in the future to constitute a higher proportion of the total provision of routine health services outside hospitals.
Expectations also indicate that the home, pharmacies and other retail spaces will increasingly be used as healthcare delivery sites in the future, and the increased adoption of digital health solutions is likely to facilitate this.
The healthcare sector around the world faces the task of building a more sustainable healthcare system.
Industry leaders in Saudi Arabia expect to shift their focus toward implementing sustainable practices at a rate of 71%, which is higher than the average of their peers in the 14 countries surveyed.
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These obstacles include inexperienced staff and data management challenges, where the leaders of the healthcare sector mentioned the lack of experience of their employees with modern technologies and the shortage of manpower in the healthcare sector.
Two of the Most Important Challenges Facing the Healthcare Sector in Saudi Arabia
1- More than half of the respondents indicated that the lack of experience of employees is the most prominent factor that hinders their ability to prepare for the future.
According to the report, 60% of respondents believe that employees’ lack of experience with modern technologies is the most important internal obstacle to preparing for the future.
However, the findings in the report address efforts to address the issue of staff inexperience within the healthcare sector.
2- The leaders of the healthcare sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also cited difficulties in the areas of data management and interoperability as one of the main obstacles to the adoption of digital transformation technologies within hospitals and healthcare facilities.
Obstacles continue to emerge as the sector continues to transform, but we are confident in the ability of the healthcare system in Saudi Arabia and its sector leaders to continue to thrive, relying on the right tools and the right knowledge.
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Philips is committed to making the world healthier and more sustainable through innovation, with the goal of improving the lives of 2.5 billion people each year by 2030.
We strive to achieve our fourfold goal of achieving better health outcomes, improving patient experience, increasing employee satisfaction and lowering healthcare costs.
We believe in the effective role that AI plays in supporting these goals by transforming data into actionable insights in order to develop a more accurate and personalized healthcare process across the health continuum by:
- Providing personalized lifestyle support that promotes healthy living in a way that suits people’s needs, preferences and conditions.
- Enabling targeted prevention of diseases or health crises to preserve the health of individuals and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions when possible.
- Enabling early and accurate diagnosis of diseases, while simplifying and making work more efficient, reducing work pressure on employees.
- Supporting accurate and personalized treatment mechanisms, in the shortest possible time, allowing the patient to obtain the best health outcomes and a high quality of life;
- In addition to developing healthcare mechanisms that can predict diseases to enable early therapeutic intervention when needed and support the process of discharge from the intensive care unit.
- Proactively monitor patients from the hospital to identify those in need of urgent medical care, wherever they are.
What Routine Medical Services can be Provided in Non-Traditional Health Conditions? Can you Provide Examples?
In light of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the provision of healthcare services remotely or virtually has become one of the most important pillars of the healthcare system future in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
According to the Saudi Arabia Future Health Index 2021 Report, leaders in the healthcare sector in the Kingdom expect that over the next three years, about a quarter of routine medical services will be provided outside hospitals.
It is expected that the number of ambulatory care centers will increase in the future to constitute a higher proportion of the total provision of routine health services outside hospitals.
Expectations also indicate the growing reliance on homes, pharmacies and other retail facilities as locations for providing healthcare in the future by benefiting from the increased adoption of digital health solutions in facilitating this.
What Do you Mean by Shifting to Value-Based Healthcare Hystem?
We look forward to providing a value-based healthcare system as a framework to improve health outcomes at a lower cost; It focuses on points of interest to patients and allocates resources according to the health outcomes that the system provides.
As a result, the framework enhances aspects such as quality, safety, patient experience and enhances confidence.
Most importantly, this approach aims to avoid unnecessary therapeutic and diagnostic interventions.
With proper implementation, the system will support the delivery of cost-effective healthcare in a standardized manner and consistent with evidence-based guidelines.
The report of the Future Health Index 2021 for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia indicates that the sector leaders in Saudi Arabia are at the forefront of those surveyed related to the follow-up of the transformation towards value-based healthcare in the future by 71%, mainly due to the transformation program in the health sector that is in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
We believe that we are in a privileged position to continue improving people’s quality of life through our commitment to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which includes moving the health sector towards a higher value health care system.
