Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Sep 3:15:11786329221121214.
doi: 10.1177/11786329221121214. eCollection 2022.

Healthcare Transformation in Saudi Arabia: An Overview Since the Launch of Vision 2030

Ahmed Ali Alasiri  1   2 , Viqaruddin Mohammed  3
Affiliations

Healthcare Transformation in Saudi Arabia: An Overview Since the Launch of Vision 2030

Ahmed Ali Alasiri et al. Health Serv Insights. .

Abstract

Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 has taken a centre stage in the development of its healthcare sector through privatization adopting Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). The objective of this study is to provide an overview of healthcare transformation in Saudi Arabia since the launch of the ambitious Vision 2030, identifying issues those need to be addressed and steps taken towards provision of health systems transformation. Literature review was based on extensive review of published and unpublished articles, where different search engines and databases searched using the key words: 'Saudi Healthcare', 'Healthcare transformation', 'Saudi vision: 2030', 'Public-Private Partnerships' and 'Privatization', in addition to secondary data as published in government reports, policy, government strategy documents and pertinent press releases. The future of the healthcare like many other developing economies continues to weigh policies for universal coverage while containing costs and the national transformation programme driven by social and economic factors has implemented strategic steps to develop its private healthcare system that includes: establishing health clusters, National Centre for Privatization & PPP - an official enabler for privatization of all government sectors and recently approved Private Sector Participation (PSP) Law involves several legislative enablers designed to enhance investor confidence in the privatization process. Although this study demonstrates systemic legislative progress to facilitate transformation process of healthcare sector, also endorses caution and research in identifying barriers to the implementation of PPPs, Saudi workforce development, implementing effective revenue cycle management function for healthcare reimbursement and ensuring vulnerable population access to good quality and tertiary healthcare. As healthcare of Saudi Arabia embarks on the transformation journey facing daunting challenges, but it appears that the government has laid out a roadmap with the legislative framework; however it is important that there is ongoing monitoring with adjustments as this complex and multifaceted process proceeds.

Keywords: Healthcare transformation; Saudi Arabia; Vision 2030; privatization; public-private partnerships.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration Of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA Flow diagram of the scoping literature review to determine appropriate articles for review.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Overview of clusters.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Vision realization programme (VRPs). https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/v2030/vrps/
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Al Asmri M, Almalki MJ, Fitzgerald G, Clark M. The public health care system and primary care services in Saudi Arabia: a system in transition. East Mediterr Health J. 2020;26:468-476. - PubMed
    1. Al-Hanawi MK, Almubark S, Qattan AMN, Cenkier A, Kosycarz EA. Barriers to the implementation of public-private partnerships in the healthcare sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. PLoS One. 2020;15:e0233802. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Al-Hanawi MK, Qattan AM. An analysis of public-private partnerships and sustainable health care provision in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Health Serv Insights. 2019;12:1178632919859008. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Albejaidi F, Nair KS. Addressing the burden of non-communicable diseases; Saudi Arabia’s challenges in achieving vision 2030. Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International. 2021;13:34-44.
    1. Albejaidi F, Nair KS. Building the health workforce: Saudi Arabia’s challenges in achieving Vision 2030. Int J Health Plann Manage. 2019;34:e1405-e1416. - PubMed