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As of 2023, the number of hospitals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stood at ***. This was *** more than the previous year. Overall, the country has seen a consistent rise in the number of hospitals in the past decade; however, the prior two years were an anomaly with the number of hospitals dropping for the first time.

Medical facilities and privatization of the hospital sector

In Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Health remains the main provider of preventive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative healthcare services. The majority of hospital beds across Saudi Arabia are also owned by the Ministry of Health. While the Kingdom’s health law aims to ensure healthcare provision for all its population in a fair and accessible manner, the constant growth of the population placed a burden on the sustainability of free health services. The development of healthcare through privatization, in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, thus offers a solution to help the state maintain and improve the quality of the public healthcare system.

Healthcare amid the COVID-19 pandemic

The increasing number of coronavirus cases across the country has encouraged the Saudi Arabian government to further develop and optimize digital health technology platforms (DHTPs). Prior to the pandemic, as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan to promote the accessibility of healthcare, the Minister of Health already introduced Seha, which is a mobile application that allows patients access to remote medical consultations with specialists. May 2019 marked the launch of the e-health app Mawid Service, which facilitates online booking, canceling, and rescheduling of patient appointments at primary health care centers. Amid the pandemic, additional apps and features were also incorporated into the telehealth system, such as Tawakkalna, Ttabaud, and Tataman, which helped mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. In general, the digital transformation of Saudi Arabia’s health sector seemed to have successfully aid the fight against COVID-19, yielding positive public response to the national healthcare system.