Primary Healthcare: Open Access
Open Access

Abstract

The cost of the Saudi healthcare system is streaming up exponentially. It is a multi-payer, multi-provider system with 75% of the provision done by the different government sectors & 25% by the private providers, the ministry of health provides 60% of the total care & also regulates healthcare provision by the private sector. The government covers 80% of the cost of care provided by the different sectors & the private insurance & out of pocket cover the remaining 20%.

The collective per-capita health expenditure in Saudi Arabia is in close to 1,200 US$ constituting about 5% of the GDP which is considered among the lower middle range of expenditure & the current access ratios & quality & outcomes are considered reasonably comparable to advanced healthcare systems.

The critical issue is the cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of expenditures on healthcare that approaches 6% while the country???s annual GDP grows at 4%, furthermore, with the rapidly growing population (2.3% /year) & the increasing expected age at birth in addition to the unhealthy habits of the population & the inefficiencies in the public providers side, the demand will continue to significantly increase in the future leading to further increase in the gap between health CAGR & national GDP, hence the proposal for the major transformation of healthcare, which focuses on engaging the beneficiaries, leveraging innovation & passing risk to providers as part of the system-wide vision 2030 for diversification of income & efficient spending in order to sustain subsidizing healthcare for all.

Biography

Mahmoud AlYamany Graduated from Medical School at King Saud University as Medical Doctor. He then did the full training & obtained the American & the Canadian Board in Neurosurgery. Later he obtained his Executive Masters in Health Administration from Washington University in St. Louis. He worked as a Neurosurgeon, Healthcare Executive & board member in several organizations in Saudi where he did most of his clinical & administrative practice. He presently works as the President of the Central Second Healthcare Cluster that constitutes a Medical City, 4 Hospitals & 70 Primary & Specialty Clinics located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

E-mail: [email protected]