By Muhammad Al-Aklabi

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The ministries of health and interior have recently reached an agreement on the criteria for setting up and merging primary healthcare centers in all regions of the Kingdom, reliable sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette.

The merger will be effected gradually on the basis of criteria that takes into consideration that the population being served should be at least 1,000 people, health centers should be at least 30 km apart or 30 minutes from the nearest health center. Mountain roads and international highways should also be taken into account.

The merger plan, sources said, stresses efficiency and rationalization of spending. The merged health centers will work until 11 at night. They must cover villages and rural centers with sophisticated mobile clinics that should carry out periodic visits.

The sources added that the ministry of health is developing the skills of directors of health centers.

In this connection, it has trained 976 directors of health centers at the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) to raise the level of their knowledge in health administration. The ministry has also implemented several measures toward digital transformation by introducing a system for booking an appointment early and issuing sick leave reports electronically, among others.

Primary healthcare centers in the ministry of health are witnessing an unprecedented flurry of activity in several technical and technological projects.

In this regard, the ministry has activated the unified e-file system in 650 primary healthcare centers. This will guarantee transferring information smoothly between health centers, and preventing repetition of services. The ministry has taken measures for dispensing of medicines from special pharmacies in 350 primary healthcare centers in the “Wasfati Program” (My Prescription Program) that ensures providing the patient with medicines at all times.

The ministry has also begun early booking of appointments program. The initiative has helped the patients secure over 20 million appointments since its launch. This has enabled the ministry to collect enough information, carry out manpower planning and measure productivity.