Primary Healthcare Centre Improvement and Privatisation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review.

Saudi Arabia prioritises primary healthcare reform to address challenges like population growth, high demand, high costs, and unequal access. The 2030 vision aims to integrate and maintain primary healthcare centre (PHC) services, while the healthcare privatisation plan seeks to modernise and expand primary care, medical cities, and dialysis centres. A search was run on different databases, and 18 studies were included in the review based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were extracted from the studies, which included the aim of the study, sample characteristics, study characteristics, and outcomes. This systematic review integrated findings from 18 recent studies on Saudi PHC services, infrastructure, workforce, policies, and reforms. The evidence depicts a system with strengths in some areas like immunisation but substantial gaps in critical domains like chronic disease management, preventive care, health information systems, care coordination, and equity. Patients face organisational, geographic, and socioeconomic barriers that impede PHC access and force overreliance on emergency services. Moreover, the PHC system faces significant gaps in areas like preventive care, health information systems, care coordination, and equity, with patients facing organisational, geographic, and socioeconomic barriers that impede access and overreliance on emergency services. Workforce limitations, particularly in rural areas, contribute to suboptimal quality. Strengthening PHCs is crucial for achieving Saudi Vision 2030 goals of improved population health outcomes, user experience, care integration, and healthcare sustainability.