The market for medical devices in Saudi Arabia was valued at $1.1 billion at the beginning of 2013 and is estimated to reach a total of $1.6 billion by the end of 2018, suggesting a complete annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9 percent within the next five years. This accounts for almost 50 percent of the Middle East’s medical devices industry.

The projected robust growth of the Kingdom’s medical devices sector in the coming years is attributed to several factors, including an overall increase in health care spending by the government, rise in per capita income, growing penetration of the health care insurance, and huge investment in both human resource and infrastructure.

The Saudi government has undertaken several initiatives to improve the existing health care industry that will significantly contribute toward the development of its allied sectors.

CompuGroup Medical (CGM), a leading IT health care solutions provider in the Middle East and Turkey, says that there is a need to increase the local production of medical devices that are currently restricted to very few items. CGM added that it would limit the reliance of the Kingdom’s health care sector on imports, which account for more than 80 percent of the overall market value.

Thomas Reitmayr, VP, business development, CompuGroup Medical Central and East Europe, said: “The government of Saudi Arabia is highly proactive in the development of health care facilities both in terms of planning and building of new treatment centers and upgrading and improvement of existing facilities. In addition, many new specialty and super specialty health care facilities are under various stages of planning and development in the Kingdom. All of this naturally leads to an upsurge in the demand for medical devices, equipment, services and solutions.”

“CGM is keen on providing the best and the most advanced medical solutions to the growing Saudi health care sector. We have achieved tremendous success with our local clients so far and are looking forward to leverage this success to contribute toward the progress and development of the local medical field,” added Mehmet Bilginsoy, GM, CompuGroup Medical Middle East.

As one of the leading eHealth companies in the world, CGM has introduced quite a number of scalable technology products and solutions that continue to play major roles in enhancing the quality and extent of health care across the Kingdom. Among CGM’s key offerings are the CORTTEX integrated hospital information management system environment, the CGM CNG clinical information systems, and the iOS-based iCNG mobile applications.

CompuGroup Medical is one of the major e-Health companies in the world, whose software products are designed to support all medical and organizational activities in doctors’ offices, pharmacies and hospitals. Its information services for all parties involved in the health care system and its web-based personal health records contribute toward safer and more efficient health care.

CompuGroup Medical’s services are based on a customer base of over 385,000 doctors, dentists, hospitals, pharmacies and networks as well as other service providers.

With locations in 19 countries and customers in 35 countries worldwide, CompuGroup Medical is claimed to be the e-Health company with one of the highest coverage among e-Health service providers. Approximately 3,700 "highly qualified employees support customers with innovative solutions" for the steadily growing demands of the health care system.