Factors Influencing the Efficiency of Public Hospitals in Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Study Exploring Stakeholders' Perspectives and Suggestions for Improvement

Abstract

ObjectiveDespite an extensive literature on efficiency, qualitative evidence on the drivers of hospital efficiency is scant. This study examined the factors that influence the efficiencies of health service provision in public hospitals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and their potential remedies.DesignWe employed a qualitative design involving semi-structured interviews conducted between July and September 2019. Participants were purposively selected and included policymakers and hospital managers drawn from districts, regional and national levels. Data were analyzed in Nvivo 12 based on a thematic approach.SettingKey informants of Ministry of health in the KSA.ResultsRespondents identified a range of different factors across the community, facility and the wider health system that influence inefficiencies in public hospitals in KSA. Ineffective hospital management, lack of strategic planning and goals, weak administrative leadership, and absence of monitoring hospital performance was noted to have a profound impact on hospital efficiency. The conditions of healthcare staff in respect to both skills, authority and psychological factors were considered to influence the efficiency level. Further, lack of appropriate data for decision making due to the absence of an appropriate health informatics system was regarded as a factor of inefficiency. At the community level, respondents described inadequate information on the healthcare needs and expectations of patients and the wider community as significant barriers to the provision of efficient services. To improve hospital efficiencies, respondents recommended that service delivery decisions are informed by data on community health needs; capacity strengthening and effective supervision of hospital staff; and judicious resource allocation.ConclusionThe study demonstrates that inefficiencies in health services remain a critical challenge in public hospitals in KSA. Extensive awareness-raising and training on efficient resource utilization among key health systems stakeholders are imperative to improving hospital performance. More research is needed to strengthen knowledge on hospital efficiency in light of the limited data on the topic in KSA and the wider Gulf region.

Primary medical and health preparedness and people's life satisfaction in China: The mediating role of satisfaction with medical and health services

“…Moreover, more staff in PMHIs results in a better experience of obtaining medical and health services (i.e., accessibility), such as increased opportunities and reduced waiting time to obtain services, with the accessibility of medical and health services being an important determinant of LS ( 19 , 20 , 42 ). Accordingly, this study highlights the importance of human resources in the construction of primary medical and health services ( 43 ). Indeed, human resources have an critical role in the development of health systems ( 44 , 45 ) and can improve the performance of healthcare institutions in terms of providing medical and health services ( 46 ).…”

Assessing Resource Allocation Based on Workload: a Data Envelopment Analysis Study on Clinical Departments in a Class A Tertiary Public Hospital in China

“…To get conclusions, these studies are mainly carried out by collecting objective data and using basic mathematical or statistical methods, such as investigation, retrospective longitudinal study, cross-sectional prospective study, expert interview, semistructured interview, and systematic review. The conclusions of these studies involve long shifts in hospitals, human resource management strategies on the medical staff, the workload of medical staff, patient-nurse ratio, balance of medical resource distribution, and so on [3][4][5][6][7][8][9].…”

Quality And Factors influencing Healthcare in KSA (Systematic literature review)

“…In a cross-sectional study by Alatawi et al (2022) among 20 physicians aiming to examine the factors that influence the efficiencies of health service provision in public hospitals in KSA and their potential remedies, ineffective management and lack of strategic planning were among the key factors associated with the poor healthcare system, another study by Almujadidi et al (2022) among 17 physicians through a cross-sectional designing aimed to explore social determinants of health in an primary health care setting in KSA, the need for a multidisciplinary approach, The disconnect between the primary care clinic and the outside community hinders referral of patients to local support agencies was among the main factors impacting the quality of healthcare system.…”