“The health-related statistics can figure out the situation of health care system status in Saudi

Arabia”.

Health care: expands the definition of medical care to include preventive services, which are designed
to help individuals avoid health and injury problems.

Statistics is applied in the healthcare system where healthcare providers can analyse local

statistics and compare them to national figures to see the illness trend. Moreover, statistics are used in
the healthcare system to help allocate public and private funds to healthcare institutions around the
country (Askari et al. 2016). Also, statistics are used to help organizations have a clear response to
how research efforts should be focused to ensure the research's success. Lastly, nurses use statistics to
identify specific patterns that help them better analyse the patient's symptoms, hence ensuring their
ability to respond better to future medical changes.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Saudi health care system is ranked 26th
among 190 of the world’s health systems.

Despite these achievements, the Saudi health care system faces many challenges which require new
strategies and policies by the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) as well as effective cooperation with
other sectors.

Overview of the Healthcare System in Saudi Arabia

-The Ministry of Health is responsible for the supervision of healthcare and hospitals in both the
public and private sectors. The system offers universal healthcare coverage.

-The healthcare system has two tiers. One is a network of primary healthcare centres and clinics. The
second tier is represented by the hospitals and specialized treatment facilities located in urban areas. 

-In 1970, there were 74 hospitals with 9,039 beds; by 2005, there were 350 hospitals with nearly
48,000 beds. The Ministry of Health operates 62% of the hospitals and 53% of the clinics and centres;
the remaining facilities are operated by government agencies, including the Ministry of Defence, the
National Guard, the Ministry of the Interior, and several other ministries, as well as by private entities.

Professional aspects of health care system

-In Saudi Arabia, many health professionals are expatriates of various nationalities.
- A gradual change has been observable, with increased numbers of Saudi nationals becoming
qualified and taking up employment in the health sector.

-In 2002 figure of 15.6 physicians/10 000 populations compares favourably with the WHO minimum
recommendation of 1 physician/10 000 populations for developing countries, and the WHO Eastern
Mediterranean Region average of 9.4 physicians/10000 populations

- HEALTH MANPOWER:
 Problem: mostly expatriate (non-Saudis) , gross mal-distribution of Saudi manpower ( mostly in big
cities and in hospitals)
-Measures to solve manpower problem: Manpower Council Deputy Minister for Planning and
Development ADM for health Manpower Development Finance and regulations of health care system
in Saudi Arabia
-Saudi citizens comprise around 68.9% of the total population; 50.2% are males and 49.8%
females.
-67.1% of the population are under the age of 30 years and about 37.2% are under 15 years.
-The population over the age of 60 years is estimated at 5.2%
-According to United Nation projections, it is estimated that the population of Saudi Arabia will
reach 39.8 million by 2025 and 54.7 million by 2050.
-This is a natural outcome of the high birth rate (23.7 per 1000 population), increased life
expectancy (72.5 years for men, 74.7 years for women).
 
Health care financing
-In Saudi Arabia, the health service is in general publicly funded
-The percentage of GDP spent on health was 3.4% in 2005. In the same year the percentage of
private GDP spent on health was 0.8%
-The government expenditure on health as a percentage of total expenditure on health was 76.2,
and private expenditure was therefore 23.8.
-This is higher than the percentage of GDP spent on health in the neighbouring country of the
United Arab Emirates, where public expenditure was 2% of GDP and private expenditure was 0.9%
of GDP
-This can be compared with other public expenditure within Saudi Arabia, in order to get an
insight into the priorities of the government.
-There has been an improvement over the years, and it is hoped that the government continues
to move in the same direction
-Saudi Arabia could greatly improve its health system by investing more money in this sector.
-Despite the disproportionate expenditure on health, the government appears to have a fairly
positive health care strategy and looks to be constantly improving its health system.
-The Health System is monitored and improved by the Ministry of Health, and the progress made
in this area, as well as other socio-economic factors has been vast over the past thirty years.
-Despite the progress already made there are still many further developments required which will
become apparent as the system is explored further.
 
Reference
Askari, R., Rafiei, S., Montazerolfaraj, R., Tafti, A. D., & Torabi, F. (2016). Quality of working life
and its association with organizational performance: a model applied for healthcare
workers. Age, 30(78), 32-8.