Saudi Arabia.. The development of the health care sector returns the compass of investments to the inside

Dr.. Muthanna Sartawi: Modern knee surgery at home made many people free from treatment abroad
Al-Arabiya Net: Link to the news
The health care sector is of increasing importance regionally and globally and its effects have been reflected on the reality of local investment in it due to the availability of many feasible investment opportunities generated by this sector to enhance its competitiveness and to enable it to keep pace with the successive changes in the world of medicine and hospitalization.
Statistics indicate an expected increase in the volume of spending on medical services in the Gulf region from $76.1 billion in 2017 to $104.6 billion in 2022, an annual growth rate of 6.6% due to the high demand for rare specialized fields, in addition to the increase in the elderly’s demand for Curative services and hospital beds, according to a report issued by the investment bank “Alba Capital”.
Gulf countries spend more than $12 billion annually on treatment abroad, equivalent to 15% of the global medical tourism market, which constitutes a significant drain on resources. The Gulf countries are looking forward to reducing treatment expenses abroad by establishing more than 700 health care projects on their lands, but the scarcity of local medical specialties remains an obstacle, especially in delicate fields such as oncology, heart and orthopedics, which constitute 45% of the percentage of Gulf nationals who require treatment. travelling abroad.
Medical innovation
Dr. Muthanna Sartawi told Al Arabiya.net, “Modern technology and innovation play an important role in improving the provision of medical services locally and improving the quality of their outputs, the most important of which is accurate diagnosis of the disease at an early stage and researching ways to prevent it. The most prominent modern technologies are the provision of parts manufactured using 3D printing technology, which we frequently adopt in modern knee surgeries, in addition to health care through communication and telemedicine, which has proven effective during the Corona pandemic.
Dr. Muthanna Sartawi, Director of the Joint Replacement Surgery Center for Speedy Recovery at Kings College London Hospital in Dubai, confirmed that the Gulf countries have supported many local initiatives that ensure the presence of qualified international medical cadres in the region and have overcome many obstacles to be a competitive and attractive environment for the elite of immigrant Gulf minds. encourage them to return to their roots. The broad government support has enhanced confidence in attracting visiting consultants from the specialized medical cadres of the Gulf countries and contributed to the transfer of the best international expertise in most medical specialties to citizens. There is no doubt that the success of the modern medical experience has contributed significantly to reducing self-treatment and governmental expenses for Gulf patients, and has saved a lot of time, effort and travel hardship for patients and their families.
On the scarcity of experienced orthopedic surgeons, d. Sartawi said that the specialty of orthopedic surgery is one of the common and required specialties, but the scarcity lies in the modern and innovative methods used by each surgeon, which are factors refined by experience, experience, and full knowledge of all scientific variables and monitoring them through research, follow-up and continuous evaluation. The patient goes to a specific doctor because of his confidence in the correct diagnosis and the surgical method he follows, and not for any other considerations. He added, “For example, knee osteoporosis due to inflammation of the knee joints is a very common disease in our societies and affects 60% of those over the age of 50, and it is linked to diseases of advanced age and the spread of unhealthy diets that cause obesity. Therefore, knee replacement surgery is the best and only radical option for treating knee osteoarthritis at the present time.
Over the past decade, the rate of total knee replacement surgery has increased by approximately 210% and is expected to increase by 410% by 2040, which will constitute an additional burden on health care expenditures, so we believe that implementing cost-cutting strategies is more urgent than ever. gone.”
Demand growth
The demand for health care services in Saudi Arabia increased at a compound annual growth rate of 1.4% during the period from 2015 to 2018, with population growth, as the total number of inpatients and outpatient visits reached about 145.9 million cases in 2018.
The number of outpatients increased at a compound annual growth rate of 1.5%, while the number of inpatient admissions decreased at a compound annual growth rate of 1.7% from 2015 to 2018.
The same period also witnessed an increase in the ratio of outpatient visits to inpatient admissions from 41 to 45 cases, which indicates a shift in the treatment method and the application of more efficient procedures to treat possible cases through outpatient clinics and one-day surgery.
One day surgery
As for surgeries to install artificial joints in the knee, Dr. Carcinoid, it is considered one of the most successful surgeries and it is the perfect solution for treating advanced knee roughness, and doctors resort to it after exhausting other methods of treatment such as medications or physical therapy, in cases where there is severe erosion of the cartilage of the knee joint, which hinders the patient from performing life activities. everyday in a natural way.
Numerous medical studies have shown that when the quadriceps tendon – the main tendon of the knee – that is usually cut during traditional knee replacement surgery is avoided during knee access surgery, the patient’s recovery is faster and with less pain. This is why so many seasoned surgeons at prominent American institutions have turned to methods that preserve the quadriceps tendon, yet most still cut the adjacent muscle.
“To avoid potential risks, we have developed a new approach to knee replacement surgery that preserves all the surrounding muscles and tendons – which has been awarded an international patent – thus speeding up the patient’s recovery and reducing postoperative pain. Also, this modern technology enables the patient to walk a few hours after the operation without much help and with complete independence, and the majority of patients are able to leave the hospital hours after the surgery and on the same day – the one-day surgery-.”
Dr. continued. Carcinoid “The innovative technology in knee joint replacement has brought about a medical revolution in the region since its application in the United States at Rush Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, and due to the wide demand of patients in the Middle East at the time, we opened multiple centers for this type of surgery in Dubai.” And Saudi Arabia, and Dubai, which is characterized by a privileged location in the region and the development of high medical infrastructure, is the ideal center to enhance our presence to serve our patients locally and internationally. Undoubtedly, the city of Dubai is a magnet for medical tourism in general, and in particular for this type of surgery due to its scarcity and the uniqueness of our medical staff.
Converting joint replacement surgery to an outpatient setting (where the patient does not need to stay in the hospital) has significantly reduced the costs of the medical care system. Numerous studies in North America showed that performing joint replacement surgery on an outpatient basis (i.e. a hospital stay of less than 24 hours) resulted in a 30% lower cost of this operation compared to traditional joint replacement surgery, which equates to savings of between $3,100 and $3,100. Approximately $8,527 per bespoke replacement. In addition to that, the patient’s ability to practice his normal life and return to work in a short period of time, and this also saves additional costs that companies may incur when granting long vacations to patients, especially for those who undergo traditional knee operations, which usually require a relatively long rehabilitation period. Dr. added.
Future projections
According to the demographic characteristics and future prospects of the Kingdom, the volume of health care spending is expected to increase from 150 billion to 220 billion riyals, at a compound annual growth rate of 5% during the period from 2018 to 2025.
The expectations of an increase in health spending in the Kingdom are based on several main factors, including the large increase in the population and the accompanying increase in the proportions of the elderly and citizens suffering from diseases as a result of following some unhealthy practices, as it is expected that the population of the Kingdom will increase to 45 million people by 2030, an increase of about 35% over the current population.
In addition to the foregoing, the rise in health care in the future will be more affected by the health status of the population in general, without limiting it to the elderly only, taking into account that about 35% of adults suffer from obesity, about 18.5% suffer from diabetes, and almost 60% of them are classified as people with diabetes. Physical activity, according to WHO data.