Since 1925, kingdom of Saudi Arabia has witnessed dramatic changes in different sectors . The economic reform and the government policies have been helping the economy and certain industries on various sectors to develop. The most recognizable sector which has developed was the healthcare sector. Particularly after issuance of the order of King Abdul Aziz, of the establishment of the Public Health Department in 1925 in Mecca and soon after the establishment of the Directorate of Public Health and Ambulance. In order to take care of health and environment and work to establish hospitals and health centers throughout the Kingdom . Major developments have brought health services to every corner of the vast kingdom. For instance life expectancy
Health services expanded in 1951 with the establishment of the Ministry of Health. Since then, the Kingdom has made huge advances in the organization of its health care system. Major developments have brought health services to every corner of the vast kingdom. Compared to 1949, the number of doctors and nurses has multiplied 25 times and 20 times (1172 to 30281 and 3261 to 64790 in 1998) respectively, in more than 300 hospitals and 1700 primary health care centers around the country. This remarkable development in the health care system has been accompanied by an improvement in the quality of health services, especially in curative medicine. Hospitals have become fully equipped and are able to perform a variety of advanced procedures in cardiovascular and cancer surgery, as well as all types of transplant
However, such achievements were minimal even after half century of health planning, and most goals could not be realized yet. The health situation in India continues to be dismal because of three main reasons. First, The change in disease patterns from communicable to non-communicable diseases in Saudi Arabia is a challenge that needs more attention from the MOH . There has been an alarming increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart diseases, cancer, genetic blood disorders and childhood obesity .Secondly, Treatment of chronic diseases is costly and may even be ineffective . For example, the annual cost for treatment of diabetes mellitus in Saudi Arabia was estimated to be 7 billion Saudi riyal (US$ 1.87 billion) .Thirdly, the Saudi health care system is challenged by the lack of local health care professionals, such as doctors, nurses and pharmacists. The majority of health workers are expatriates, leading to higher turnover fees and labor force instability work force