Dr. Osama AlSwailem, Assistant Chief Executive Officer at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, outlined major infrastructure achievements underpinning Saudi Arabia’s ambition in precision medicine. He cited the unified health record, the NAFIS data platform, the Sehaty citizen portal and the Virtual Hospital network as foundational enablers of access, equity and efficiency across the care continuum.
KFSHRC itself is leading applied innovation, deploying artificial intelligence systems, genomic and multi-omics platforms, and immersive training tools, he said, as “proof points” that the shift to tech-driven healthcare is delivering measurable clinical value. The hospital has recently won awards tied to its electronic health record systems, reflecting national push for digital maturity.
The presentation emphasised Saudi’s push for trilateral cooperation, especially between Saudi Arabia, the United States and Japan, in areas such as open data, biotechnology, and advanced manufacturing of medical products. A key enabler is the nation’s Digital Accelerator scheme and the National Data Management Office, which aim to facilitate secure data access and invite external partners to co-develop diagnostics, AI models, and clinical trials infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia’s path in digital health is anchored by its long-standing Vision 2030 agenda and the Health Sector Transformation Program, which is expanding digital investment, interoperability, value-based care models and medical tourism. The Ministry of Health’s Seha Virtual Hospital now connects with 224 hospitals and offers 44 specialist services; it has earned a Guinness World Record as the largest virtual hospital.
In parallel, KFSHRC continues pushing frontiers of care and training. Its three hospital sites and its Virtual Care Centre serve growing volumes of patients. The hospital has reported performing the world’s first fully robotic heart surgery and implanting a brain chip without conventional surgery. Virtual reality is being incorporated in clinical simulations to strengthen workforce capabilities.
Despite progress, Saudi health systems face challenges. A study of hospitals in the Eastern Province revealed that while governance and workforce maturity scored relatively high, predictive analytics and interoperability remain underexploited. Private facilities in the region outpaced public ones in digital readiness, underlining capacity and resource gaps.
Security, privacy and user centricity are also in focus. As adoption of mHealth apps grows, low awareness of best practices among end users presents risks of data breaches. Health authorities are under pressure to balance usability with robust protections, such as multi-factor authentication, anonymisation and auditability.
On the global front, Saudi Arabia’s membership in broader digital institutions adds weight to its ambitions. It is a founding member and active participant in the Digital Cooperation Organization, and SDAIA houses the National Data Management Office and National Centre for Artificial Intelligence. Those bodies align with the Kingdom’s agenda to promote data governance, share best practices, and support innovation ecosystems.
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Saudi Arabia