Health & Life Sciences

Public and private sector investment in Saudi Arabia’s health care industry continues to be fuelled by the growing demands of a rising population and the increasing prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases. Although the 2016 health care budget was down on the historic high of 2015, industry players are confident of changes to enhance efficiency and promote better allocation of resources, as the rollout of government initiatives and projects already in the pipeline moves ahead. Moreover, what scale-backs are taking place are expected to open opportunities for more vigorous private sector involvement, as called for in the National Transformation Programme, released in June 2016. Meanwhile, a greater focus on preventive care is being encouraged to tackle the rise of chronic and lifestyle-related diseases, and an increasing number of Saudis are enrolling in courses at the Kingdom’s medical colleges, which bodes well for a sector historically reliant on foreign expertise.

This chapter contains an interview with Dr Haitham Alfalah, CEO, King Saud Medical City.