JEDDAH: The Ministry of Health has announced that it has saved 114 lives over the past week through its referral program that provides specialist care needed by certain patients.

The program, known in Arabic as “Ihalati,” saw 4,571 patients transferred to various hospitals from Aug. 16 to 22. “This is part of the unstinting support for specialized therapeutic services in the Kingdom,” said Suleiman Ahmad Al-Sharie, supervisor of the program, on the ministry’s website.

Al-Sharie said that out of the cases referred to specialist hospitals, 2,916 patients or 63.8 percent were approved, 1,212 or 26.5 percent were still being considered, 267 or 5.8 percent received treatment at the same hospital, and 176 or 3.9 percent were placed on the waiting list.

Al-Sharie said the 114 cases involving life-saving treatment made up 2.49 percent of the total last week. There were 999 or 21.86 percent emergency cases, 1,055 or 23.08 percent people treated as inpatients, and 2,403 or 52.57 percent referred to outpatient clinics.

The ministry stated that the Ihalati program was a new electronic initiative introduced recently. “Advantages include providing medical counseling by physicians at various facilities with patients without the need to transfer them.”

“It also provides all the logistics-related requirements to refer a patient from one medical facility to another. In addition, it provides an accurate archiving and statistical system, which contains information on referred patients at all the Kingdom’s hospitals.”

Meanwhile, Health Minister Khalid Al-Falih chaired a Council of Cooperative Health Insurance meeting in Riyadh recently. The participants discussed various issues affecting private sector employees and a proposed strategic plan for 2020.

There was also discussion on a health insurance project, which aims to provide cover for all those who need it. The project is close to completion, a local publication reported recently.