By Matthew Brady 
Royal Philips has published the findings of the ninth edition of its Future Health Index report, highlighting that Saudi Arabian healthcare leaders are at the forefront of adopting AI-enabled innovations to enhance patient care. The report surveyed nearly 3,000 healthcare leaders across 14 countries.
The Future Health Index 2024 Global Report reveals that the majority of Saudi healthcare leaders (92%) believe that using technology to automate repetitive tasks and processes is crucial for addressing staff shortages in the healthcare sector.
Significant progress has already been made in automation within the Kingdom, including the digitisation of health records, automation of administrative tasks, and the implementation of clinical workflow management systems—all aimed at boosting productivity and improving healthcare staff satisfaction.
Virtual care and automation help allieviate healthcare burdens
All Saudi healthcare leaders meanwhile recognise the positive impact of virtual care on easing staffing pressures, while 90% say patients at their organisation are positive about virtual care.
Saudi healthcare leaders have reported significant benefits fom the integration of virtual care, including enhanced staff support for complex patient management (37%); improved patient appointment attendance (34%); the creation of new career options for healthcare professionals seeking remote work (34%); and increased capacity to serve more patients (33%).
While automation and virtual care show great potential, all Saudi healthcare leaders acknowledge that data integration challenges impact care delivery. They believe that data-driven insights could help reduce waiting times for diagnostics and elective procedures, and optimise treatment plans or pathways.
Additionally, they view them as vital for patient demand forecasting, predicting adverse events, identifying evidence-based best practices, detecting medical conditions, and reducing hospital readmissions – key elements for enhancing patient care.
Half of Saudi healthcare leaders to invest in Gen AI
Saudi healthcare leaders furthermore recognise the benefits that generative AI could bring to healthcare by unlocking new efficiencies and insights from patient data. Their interest means that healthcare leaders in the Kingdom are currently investing in generative AI (41%) at a higher rate than the global average (29%).
While AI was initially used primarily in operational settings, it has now been adopted in several clinical areas, such as treatment planning and in-hospital patient monitoring (both 72%). Plans are also underway to implement AI in medication management (48%) and remote patient monitoring (37%) over the next three years.
Looking ahead to the next 12 months, a greater number of healthcare leaders in Saudi Arabia (49%) are planning to invest in generative AI, reinforcing the country’s Vision 2030 goal to become a global technology leader that empowers its people to thrive.
