The pace of Saudi reform and outsourcing
Talks of an explosion in private sector opportunities in developing the Saudi health sector abound and are getting active attention from Houston to New Delhi.
There are, indeed, promising signs of much needed policy reform and development in areas such as new models of care, better work force planning and an appetite for nationwide engagement with the domestic and international private sector to plug major gaps in areas as diverse as primary care provision to diagnostics and patient data analytics.
There are also signs of wider political reform with MBS recently engaging in swingeing arrests across senior government and private sectors and including even some senior global professional services advisors accused of corrupt practices.
Having dealt with the security and economic apparatus it is likely that the equally important (to the populace) areas of health and education are likely to be next on the list.
It is too early to say how this will affect the health sector at a more granular level.
There also remain big challenges around payment mechanisms, reliability of contracts and their legal underpinnings and the wider issue of transparency in general.
Data sources also remain poor both at the national and operational levels. Many public hospitals still struggle to provide (or know) basics things about patient flow or, in some cases, even employee numbers.
“When hospitals can’t tell you what’s in their store room or how many people they employ talk of advanced technology solutions including EMRs and such like is just a pipe dream” said one banker.
There is much to play for but policy needs to be clearer and more consistent before significant and sustainable deal flow is likely to develop.
We would welcome your thoughts on this story. Email your views to Max Hotopf or call 0207 183 3779.
