RIYADH: The Health Ministry’s referral program Ehalati, introduced last year, is fast gaining popularity among both patients and physicians, according to an official.

The Ehalati program provides convenient medical services to patients, saving time on traveling to various facilities for treatment.

It also promotes efficient coordination between the ministry’s headquarters and health affairs directorates spread across Saudi Arabia.

More than 26,000 patients benefited from the program last month. It also saved the lives of at least 712 people, said the official.

Health teams also provided specialized medical services during the same period to 6,391 emergency cases. The number of inpatient cases was 4,609 and the cases referred to outpatient clinics amounted to 14,355.

The program takes care of the logistics needed in referring a patient from one medical facility to another.

In addition, it provides an archiving and statistical system, storing vital data about the referred patients in Saudi hospitals.

The program reduces the need to move a patient between hospitals by allowing physicians to receive counseling at various facilities to study his or her status.