The Health Ministry has taken a significant step to provide better health care to expatriate workers not entitled to free medical care by allowing them access to selected government primary health care centers. Expats with medical insurances or the ability to pay can use the centers.
The new plan provides much-needed revenue in the health sector, but more importantly it widens the access to health care for expats that have been previously unavailable. Part of the scheme is to maintain offices in each approved primary health care facility that will process expats’ insurance paperwork to ensure payments are made.
Primary health care centers are located in specific neighborhoods throughout Saudi Arabia and are the first line of defense in health care for Saudis and their dependents. The centers are the gatekeepers for the health sector. Such centers provide basic medical care ranging from children’s vaccinations to pre-natal care and establishing medical awareness campaigns. The centers play an important role in instilling confidence in the patients. Think of Saudi primary health care centers as similar to the United Kingdom’s General Practitioner offices in which most patients are initially treated for medical conditions before they are directed to a specialist.
By establishing this program for expat workers, the Ministry of Health is reducing the chances of expats seeking medical attention in private hospitals, which are extremely expensive and not always the best medical alternative for non-Saudis. Unfortunately expats fall prey to private hospitals that are more concerned about fleecing a patient. It’s not unusual for expats to be caught in a vicious and very expensive cycle by being recommended from one specialist to another without properly diagnosing the medical condition.
But the question the Health Ministry must ask itself is whether primary health care centers are up to the task of accepting new patients, even if those patients are providing new revenue. The quality of treatment in a primary center varies significantly depending on the director running the operation.
A disciplined center will have doctors and nurses well trained and available and equipment that are modern. In some primary centers, doctors are not available and nurses behave unprofessionally. An all too common problem is the lack of working equipment. Many centers have dentists on staff, but dental services are not always available because the equipment does not work properly.
To ensure success the Health Ministry must raise the standard by appointing qualified doctors and nurses, well-maintained buildings and foster a strong relationship between the center and main hospitals to facilitate provision of quality health care. Eliminating financial abuse of expatriate patients is also a key to establishing a successful program.
It should also be pointed out that the types of insurance companies allowed to operate in the Kingdom need serious attention. Many insurance companies exist solely to provide paperwork to allow expatriates and their dependents, and Saudis and their non-Saudi dependents, to renew their Iqamas.
The ability to file a claim and have a medical bill or a portion of a medical bill paid by these fly-by-night insurance operations is virtually non-existent. Many of these insurance companies exist to satisfy the requirement for an Iqama but provide no other service than issuing a document. If an expat does not have insurance through his employer than that worker needs access to a legitimate company that offers a legitimate service in order to facilitate his treatment at a primary health center.
The new plan provides much-needed revenue in the health sector, but more importantly it widens the access to health care for expats that have been previously unavailable. Part of the scheme is to maintain offices in each approved primary health care facility that will process expats’ insurance paperwork to ensure payments are made.
Primary health care centers are located in specific neighborhoods throughout Saudi Arabia and are the first line of defense in health care for Saudis and their dependents. The centers are the gatekeepers for the health sector. Such centers provide basic medical care ranging from children’s vaccinations to pre-natal care and establishing medical awareness campaigns. The centers play an important role in instilling confidence in the patients. Think of Saudi primary health care centers as similar to the United Kingdom’s General Practitioner offices in which most patients are initially treated for medical conditions before they are directed to a specialist.
By establishing this program for expat workers, the Ministry of Health is reducing the chances of expats seeking medical attention in private hospitals, which are extremely expensive and not always the best medical alternative for non-Saudis. Unfortunately expats fall prey to private hospitals that are more concerned about fleecing a patient. It’s not unusual for expats to be caught in a vicious and very expensive cycle by being recommended from one specialist to another without properly diagnosing the medical condition.
But the question the Health Ministry must ask itself is whether primary health care centers are up to the task of accepting new patients, even if those patients are providing new revenue. The quality of treatment in a primary center varies significantly depending on the director running the operation.
A disciplined center will have doctors and nurses well trained and available and equipment that are modern. In some primary centers, doctors are not available and nurses behave unprofessionally. An all too common problem is the lack of working equipment. Many centers have dentists on staff, but dental services are not always available because the equipment does not work properly.
To ensure success the Health Ministry must raise the standard by appointing qualified doctors and nurses, well-maintained buildings and foster a strong relationship between the center and main hospitals to facilitate provision of quality health care. Eliminating financial abuse of expatriate patients is also a key to establishing a successful program.
It should also be pointed out that the types of insurance companies allowed to operate in the Kingdom need serious attention. Many insurance companies exist solely to provide paperwork to allow expatriates and their dependents, and Saudis and their non-Saudi dependents, to renew their Iqamas.
The ability to file a claim and have a medical bill or a portion of a medical bill paid by these fly-by-night insurance operations is virtually non-existent. Many of these insurance companies exist to satisfy the requirement for an Iqama but provide no other service than issuing a document. If an expat does not have insurance through his employer than that worker needs access to a legitimate company that offers a legitimate service in order to facilitate his treatment at a primary health center.
