JEDDAH: Faculty members of medical schools and the other medical sciences will offer health services to community members, either through full-time or part-time jobs across the region and governorates.

According to a memorandum of understanding, signed between Education Minister Azzam Al-Dakhil and Minister of Health Khalid Al-Falih, emphasis will be laid on activating training and development of manpower. This objective will be achieved through hospitals and specialized health centers, medical cities and initial health care facilities for training and postgraduate studies, in addition to associate programs and the other medical specialties.

Several strategic initiatives to activate joint objectives of the two ministries will be undertaken. The pact will also ensure the encouragement of scientific partnership between the two ministries. Levels of cooperation will be enhanced between hospitals and medical schools and other health faculties in the field of scientific and clinical research and exchange of information.

The universities will contribute to the activation of the goals of the Health Ministry in terms of focusing on preventive measures, strengthening the health issues, building an integrated and strategic long-term system for health awareness issues and the early discovery of diseases.

On a related issue, the Saudi Health Council participated in an international conference on health financing and costs held in Adelaide, Australia, recently. The council shed light on the efficiency achieved in Saudi hospitals and how to calculate costs at health facilities.

The general secretariat of the council of health services, Dr. Yacoub bin Yousef Al-Mazroa, said the representative of the general secretariat discussed a number of issues on the sidelines of the conference, mainly those related to training and learning of medical coding in the Kingdom.

He said the council agreed with the general Australian commission for pricing and health costs to provide the council with an action plan for the best methods to offer training on this subject inside the Kingdom, or in Australian universities and institutions.