Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39765971›Full record

ReviewHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2024

Healthcare Financing in Saudi Arabia: A Comprehensive Review.

Kesavan Sreekantan Nair, Yasir Hayat Mughal, Fahad Albejaidi, Ali H Alharbi

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Digital epidemiology investments, Saudi Arabia.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Factors affecting the use of nasoalveolar molding and feeding appliances among nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate in five countries: a cross-sectional study.European archives of paediatric dentistry : official journal of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry · 2026
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Kesavan Sreekantan NairDepartment of Health Informatics, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, P.O. Box 6666, Buraidah 41542, Saudi Arabia.ORCID 0000-0002-2664-2621
Yasir Hayat MughalDepartment of Health Informatics, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, P.O. Box 6666, Buraidah 41542, Saudi Arabia.ORCID 0000-0001-8862-4608
Fahad AlbejaidiDepartment of Health Informatics, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, P.O. Box 6666, Buraidah 41542, Saudi Arabia.
Ali H AlharbiDepartment of Health Informatics, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, P.O. Box 6666, Buraidah 41542, Saudi Arabia.ORCID 0000-0003-1815-7287

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Saudi Vision 2030 is a game-changer for all aspects of the economy, including healthcare. This article provides a comprehensive overview of healthcare financing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). It identifies key healthcare financing challenges that must be addressed to achieve the initiative's envisioned health system goals. The review also examines and demonstrates how healthcare funds in the KSA are allocated among different healthcare services, to offer a perspective on resource use efficiency at various healthcare levels. This research used a mixed-method design which includes a literature review and secondary data analysis. A literature review was conducted aligned with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) reporting guidelines. The secondary data were gathered from the reports and websites of government agencies, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations. Despite implementing significant reforms in its healthcare system, the share of private healthcare expenditure in total healthcare spending has seen only marginal growth. The current healthcare financing system appears insufficient to adequately support the chronically ill and the poor. There is a significant imbalance in the allocation of government budgets between hospitals and primary care, with four-fifths of financial resources directed towards hospital services. The Ministry of Health's budget allocation prioritizes personnel compensation, potentially reducing the available budget for medicines and other essential healthcare supplies. Ongoing reforms in the health sector, including privatization, public-private partnership initiatives, and the government's commitment to developing a robust primary healthcare network, are expected to play a significant role in controlling rapidly increasing public healthcare expenditures in Saudi Arabia.

Indexed as

challengeshealthcarehealth insurancehealth systemSaudi Vision 2030

Identifiers

PMID39765971
PMCPMC11675727

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.