Toward Improving Mobile Health Services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Based on the Saudi 2030 Vision

Abstract

Mobile health (mHealth) has a vital role to play as it can improve communication and enhance the health care processes integration. The Saudi Ministry of Health (SMOH)has announced its initiatives to improve health services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and one of these initiatives is improving electronic health services. The aim of this research is to identify the most important mHealth services in the SMOH mobile applications. To achieve this aim, the study will admit a quantitative research method and the data will be collected through a questionnaire which will be distributed to patients in selected hospitals, in the (KSA. Recently, the SMOH has developed five mHelath applications in order to provide its mobile health services, however, there are several services which are not offered in these applications including appointment reservation, open and update electronic medical record, patient referee, physician directory, request medical reports and health risk assessments. The study will figure out whether these services are necessary and important for patients in the KSA. As a research implication, the research findings will expand an area of mHealth services in the KSA, which is still empirically not adequately explored. Additionally, the research results might provide valuable insights into the health professional and administrations in other countries.