Clinical governance, the systematic approach to maintain and improve quality of patient care within a health system, plays an increasingly significant role with medical costs steadily on the rise.
A large part of this increase is due to market dynamics such as implementation of the new mandatory health insurance coupled with an expanding population requiring medical care. Both the public and private sectors, especially in the field of health insurance, have taken a proactive approach to meet the surging demand.
The government allocated SR 87 billion of the SR 702 billion of the 2012 national budget to health and social affairs, which amounts to an increase of 26 percent over the fiscal year 2011.
Most of the allocated budget will be invested in projects such as new primary care centers and hospitals which will have a positive impact on the Kingdom’s citizens as they will have better access to more medical facilities and services.
The budget represents an additional boost for the Saudi economy, which will be reflected in benefits for the insurance sector.
When interviewed about the importance and necessity of clinical governance as a quality insurance tool to protect the rights of patients, Dr. Hani Jokhdar, medical director at Bupa Arabia, a university staff at Umm Al-Qura School of Medicine and a certified hospital accreditation surveyor at the Central Board Accreditation for Healthcare Institution, said: “The driving force of Bupa Arabia’s operations is the wellbeing of our members. As the highest medical authority I am responsible for clinical governance and building a governance framework to insure that our members receive the required service for their treatment. Accordingly, we have built in various checkpoints within our system.”
The director added: “At the core of Bupa Arabia’s corporate governance stands customer satisfaction. In order to achieve this, we have developed a quality check methodology and quality assurance in order to continue implementing the practice.”
