Booz Allen Hamilton: The new Saudi Arabian healthcare market (page 3 of 3)

Accordingly, health systems integrators and potentially telemedicine specialists are likely to be in high demand.

Education. The most basic medical shortage that Saudi Arabia now faces is a shortage of doctors and nursing staff. To satisfy current needs, more medical schools and residency programs must be developed. Accordingly the government supports the development of more medical education facilities, and some of these will be available for private sector investment. Saudi Arabia will actively seek to create partnerships with leading educational institutions to build the country's medical education capacities.

Conclusion

The fully nationalized system that served an earlier era well is no longer suited for the complex, dynamic country that Saudi Arabia is now becoming. For both economic and public health reasons, the government is committed to a course of change that will in the end create a system that is more responsive to the health needs of Saudi consumers.

"A market-driven healthcare system means competing groups providing the best care possible," adds Mr. Ziad Fares, Booz Allen Hamilton Health Expert. "In order to cope with the future needs of the country, Saudi Arabia is finding that it must make substantial changes to the way it conducts healthcare."

This transition to a market-driven healthcare system will not only be good news for Saudis and the Saudi economy. For international healthcare providers and investors, the coming liberalization of the sector will mean increased access to the largest healthcare market in the Middle East, and an exciting opportunity to help millions of Saudis live longer, healthier lives.