TRACKING AND MONITORING PATIENTS AND ASSETS IN SAUDI ARABIA’ HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENT

The Saudi healthcare system still faces a number of challenges despite numerous initiatives that have been taken by the Ministry of Health and relevant healthcare authorities. Most of these challenges relate to the underutilisation of electronic health (e-Health) strategies, and the development of a national system for health information. This paper looks into current issues and barriers in Saudi Arabia healthcare environment. The paper descries the collections and analysis of quantifiable data to support tracking and monitoring of patients and assets in Saudi Arabia’s healthcare environment. The paper also compares current practises with a proposed system for an e-Health framework using Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) and ZigBee technologies. A survey was conducted on respondents from Saudi Arabia to ascertain the need of tracking and monitoring in a hospital environment. The survey results indicated that implementing tracking system will help in tracking patients as they move about the facility, enabling them to be quickly located for scheduled
treatments or procedures.