Serious medical errors reported in the local press over the past year have undermined public confidence in the quality of care provided by private and government hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Health conducted analyses of various hospitals to identify problems and opportunities for improvement. Statistics showed lower rates of rejected insurance claims and fewer reported incidents at Mohammad Dossary Hospital in Al-Khobar from 2004 to 2008, indicating higher quality. The presentation highlights the positive impact of quality improvement processes on local hospitals and patient care.

1. In the past year serious medical errors were reported on a daily basis The process touched every aspect of medicine and
by the local press. This has greatly undermined the confidence of the healthcare in Mohammad Dossary Hospital based in Al-
public in the quality of medical care provided by both private and Khobar, as confirmed by statistics.
government run institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
Improved revenue base due to lower rejections
by insurance companies of the invoices.
Accounts Receivable
Rejected Collected
23.12% 76.88%
2004
6.95% 93.05%
2006
6.72% 93.28%
2007
Low number of reported incidents and problems.
9
2008 Quality Indicators
8
7
No. of Incidents 6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Jan Mar Apr Jun Jul Sep Oct Dec
Nosocomial Infection Needle Prick Pharmacy Error
The Ministry of Health (MOH) conducted situational analysis of
various hospitals to identify problems and opportunities at the current Upward trend in patient census.
250,000
hospital setting.
Quality Program in Western Region of KSA 200,000
No. of Patients
34 Jeddah Mecca Taif
150,000
23
100,000
14 12
11
8 7 8 50,000
2 4
1 0
-
Surveyed Passed Surveyed Passed 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Admissions ER Visits Clinic Visits
2004-2005 2005-2006
4,506 4,830
3,608 4,019
2,723
MOH setup the Central Board of Accreditation for
Healthcare Institutions (CBAHI) and formulated the
National Hospital Standards, at par with JCAHO (Joint 787 1,173
384 459 668
Commission on Accreditation of Hospital
Organizations), in order to improve healthcare quality in
all hospitals within KSA. A key factor in the success of 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
implementing this process was to appoint Consultants to Deliveries Surgeries
visit the hospitals.
10 visits each
This presentation highlights the impact of this process on the quality
improvement of local hospitals and subsequently
better care provided to clients. We will
recommend the same model to less developed
countries in order to improve the quality of
their healthcare institutions. The cost of
implementing these changes could be
kept at a minimum, as in our hospital,
by assigning the role of Director of
4 visits each Quality Management to the senior most
consultant of the hospital.