The Ministry of Health wants to improve disease management in the country by upgrading technology at hospitals and health facilities, and enhancing patient data. Dr. Carlo Kaabar, senior consultant at the Ministry of Health, explained that patient data and better data analysis affect diagnosis and treatment in the long run.

“The challenge is to use the relevant data for respective patients. For example, data analysis can help to better identify and track chronic disease states and high risk patients, apply appropriate interventions and even reduce number of hospital admissions,” Kaabar, who has over 30 years of experience in the sector in different countries, told Arab News.

According to Kaabar, the Ministry of Health is moving toward an interoperable electronic health record (IEHR) via a comprehensive e-health strategy. “Although data analysis is already used in the public health arena, for example, it will be a few years before it is integrated, reliable data that can be collected and analyzed,” the added.

The government has made significant investments in e-health with many ongoing projects to achieve IEHR. The road map currently includes all MoH hospitals and primary health care centers, while a committee has been formed to oversee the implementation of the project.

Kaabar foresees that thanks to data automation, the medical laboratory industry in the country will bloom over the next years.

“The medical laboratory industry in KSA will play a major role in the ministry’s strategy, especially since 70 to 80 percent of medical decisions are based on diagnostic test results. Due to the global labor shortage of pathologists and medical technologists, more automation will be introduced to make the best use of these skilled laboratory personnel,” he said.

Information will continue to play a big role in many other areas of the laboratory, Kaabar said, such as telepathology, which is used by doctors to provide a diagnosis through telecommunication, and digital microscopy.

“The region is hungry for up-to-date and practical information on health care matters,” the expert commented. “I have chaired the Laboratory Management Conference at the MedLab congress for the last five years and each year we seem to run out of seats, due to the increased number of delegates. Other MedLab conferences are also always sold out,” he said.