Introduction
A health information system (HIS) can be defined as a structure used to manage data in a healthcare facility. The information includes patients’ age, status, medication, and diagnosis reports and histories. Electronic health records facilitate easy retrieval of data when needed by doctors during diagnosis sessions (Alshahrani et al., 2022). Additionally, healthcare workers and their work attendance records are stored in such systems for easy management. This essay examines the health information systems used in Saudi Arabia, the associated challenges, the form of governance in the kingdom, and solutions to the barriers faced.
Governance and Health Care Systems
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s government has adopted universal healthcare that is free to all citizens. Services are offered by government agencies and part of the private sector, prioritized healthcare services. The government provides healthcare services to all parts of the kingdom where the new policies governing the health sector are followed. These efforts have improved the quality and quantity of services in the past decades. In 1925, King Abdulaziz ordered the establishment of the first health department for loyal families (Alhassni et al., 2022).
Currently, the Ministry of Health is the leading government provider of the health care systems in the kingdom. The MOH provides essential care in the diverse network of healthcare centers. The referral system has also been adopted for preventive care to vulnerable society members through advanced technology and specialists. The government manages funds and planning activities with the aim of following up and supervising hospital facilities.
Additionally, other government agencies offer healthcare services to other institutions. The Ministry of Education cares for learners, and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor caters to homes for orphans and mentally ill patients.
Adopted Health Information Systems
The management of health information systems adopted in Saudi Arabia includes electronic medical and health records. They have replaced manual records, which could be more effective. Electronic health records are the most effective system in the current evolving world since it facilitates online storage of data (Abu Alrub et al., 2021). However, despite the desire to move to digital methods, some circumstances hinder this adoption making it difficult to adopt to the changing trends.
Barriers and Challenges
One of the significant barriers facing health information systems is the insufficient number of physicians and other healthcare professionals to handle the patients. The majority of healthcare providers have specialized, leading to instability and low turnover rates in the health sector (Alzahrani et al., 2022).
Electronic health record systems have faced problems due to improved technological advancements. This creates financial barriers to the high initial expenses of purchasing and installing electronic health records systems. Further, maintenance costs are high, and the budget allocation for such systems could be better at the government and hospital levels. Another barrier is the change in disease patterns, which requires extra effort from the MOH.
Recommendations to Deal with Barriers and Challenges
To overcome the barriers and challenges of adopting new technology, a nurse must be educated on the benefits of adopting the system through mentoring and coaching. It should begin from colleges and universities and be adopted as a culture for the experience. Financial challenges can be solved by setting aside enough capital, including all the associated expenses, before installing the systems.
Prevention programs should be established to solve chronic diseases among the citizens (Al Otaybi et al., 2022). Education is needed to increase awareness of healthy practices, such as eating a balanced diet, which reduces cases of lifestyle diseases (Alkhalifah et al., 2022). Through this, the MOH will spend less on medication and maintenance for patients with such conditions.
Conclusion
In summary, the healthcare system is essential to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, necessary changes must be adopted to facilitate easy access to online data for patient diagnosis. The ministry of health in Saudi Arabia has taken the main role of offering health care services to the citizens reducing the individual burden of financing medication. Healthcare professionals should be taught how to incorporate technology in colleges and campuses.
References
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