Introduction
The health sector is constantly changing to respond to new diseases and patients’ changing needs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare industry has been overwhelmed with many patients and the need to protect uninfected individuals who visited the hospital. For this reason, many countries, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), chose to implement or update their telemedicine services – the provision of care, consultation, and treatment with the help of communication technology (Nasser et al., 2021). As a result, KSA has to review its policies regarding patient information protection and ethical treatment. This paper examines the previous and existing challenges in implementing telemedicine in Saudi Arabia.
Health Laws
The history of patient information protection in Saudi laws shows that the country was not always ready to use telemedicine. According to Elgujja and Arimoro (2019), prior to the new outlook brought on by such events as the COVID-19 pandemic, KSA’s laws on patient data security were not well-defined under a single piece of legislation. Instead, judges had a broader range of laws and had to approach each incident individually, which did not contribute to the universal protection of patient information. Elgujja and Arimoro (2019) suggest that such legislature’s lack of clarity and low comprehensiveness made courts less accessible for patients. As a result, adopting telemedicine, where data is transferred outside the hospital, was slow.
Barriers to Implementation
Although the country has introduced new laws and innovations to the healthcare system, some barriers to the development of telemedicine persist. Al-Hazmi et al. (2021) report that technological limitations are the main challenge encountered by hospitals. Further problems may include physician resistance and cultural issues voiced by patients. More than half of patients in a study by Alshammari (2019) reported not wanting to use technology when seeking medical help. While physicians may resist using telemedicine due to the lack of expertise, patients believe telemedicine does not support a trusting physician-patient relationship. Therefore, the main barriers to telemedicine implementation are technological and social.
Current KSA Laws
The modern KSA laws surrounding health care acknowledge the place of telemedicine in patient treatment. For example, all organizations have to be licensed to provide telehealth services, and physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals must be credentialed and educated. Moreover, the processes must comply with Saudi Arabia’s health information exchange policy (Bassi, 2022). This law implies that all data acquired through telemedicine is covered by the same data privacy and security legislation as any other hospital visit. Healthcare professionals have access to data that helps them identify the patient and any relevant medical data (Bassi, 2022). As a whole, current KSA laws have improved to protect patient data acquired during telemedicine consultations.
The Role of Informed Consent
One of the important factors in providing telemedicine services is informed consent. Informed consent is the agreement that the patient understands the process of telemedicine care and agrees to the information collection and use during the examination and treatment (Al-Hazmi et al., 2021). Patients need to understand how telemedicine services are provided since conversations with healthcare professionals differ based on the hardware and software used. For example, the patient may need to share some photos and turn on the webcam. Moreover, some consultations or conversations may need to be recorded, especially if the practitioner offers asynchronous care (Al-Hazmi et al., 2021). Therefore, informed consent plays a crucial role in healthcare quality and the protection of patient data.
The technical infrastructure should also support a unified data storage system and access and some channels for communicating with patients and health care providers. Al-Hazmi et al. (2021) indicated that many physicians used different applications, including WhatsApp, Zoom, and e-mails. The distribution of information across these systems does not align with the necessary security precautions, making patient data less safe and standardized.
Legal and Ethical Challenges
Implementing and updating telemedicine services in Saudi Arabia can encounter several legal and ethical challenges. First, patient and physician resistance can be a problem, as it is vital to have both parties agree on the benefits of telemedicine to use it effectively. Next, another issue is the potential abuse or misuse of the telehealth system. Al-Hazmi et al. (2021) find that misdiagnosis is a significant concern in this field. Therefore, malpractice cases and their investigation present a legal matter that requires an update in the present legislature.
Solutions
To address the problems in using telemedicine, Saudi Arabia needs to improve its laws, engage in educational programs, and contribute resources to technological advancement. First, public education interventions can increase the support for telemedicine services and teach individuals how to use their phones and computers to access care. Physician and nurse training programs can reduce the rate of resistance as well. To combat the issue of malpractice, KSA has to base future laws on existing cases and the potential dangers of technology abuse and misdiagnosis. These policies must clearly outline the responsibilities of healthcare providers and the limitations of using telemedicine to deliver care.
Conclusion
Overall, the state of telemedicine services in Saudi Arabia is improving. The country has introduced new laws and acknowledged the role of technology in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The law covers patient privacy and data security, and a new legislature is being developed. Nevertheless, KSA still has some challenges, including the lack of technology and established networks, patient and physician resistance, and the risk of malpractice. New laws, additional resources, and education can solve these issues and help the quality of telemedicine services in the country.
References
Al-Hazmi, A. M., Sheerah, H. A., & Arafa, A. (2021). Perspectives on telemedicine during the era of COVID-19: What can Saudi Arabia do? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(20), 10617. Web.
Alshammari, F. (2019). Perceptions, preferences and experiences of telemedicine among users of information and communication technology in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Health Informatics in Developing Countries, 13(1), 1-15.
Bassi, J. (2022). The regulation and licensing of telemedicine in Saudi Arabia. Web.
Elgujja, A. A., & Arimoro, A. (2019). A review of the patients’ right of confidentiality under the Saudi Arabian laws. Preprints, 2019080231. Web.
Nasser, A. A., Alzahrani, R. M., Fellah, C. A., Jreash, D. M., Almuwallad, N. T. A., Bakulka, D. S. A., & Abed, R. A. R. O. (2021). Measuring the patients’ satisfaction about telemedicine used in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19 pandemic. Cureus, 13(2). e13382. Web.