The projected increase in spending by the Saudi government on healthcare this year will help the development of new medical facilities and upgrade the existing ones,  a report said.

Saudi Arabia has allocated SR108 billion ($28.8 billion) for expansion of health and social services, an increase 8 per cent compared to 2013.

The Saudi healthcare market has undergone major development during the last few years supported by various factors, including an overall increase in healthcare spending by government, growing penetration of health insurance providers, increase in per capita income, and huge investment in both human resource and medical infrastructure, said the statement by CompuGroup Medical (CGM), a leading IT healthcare solutions provider in the Middle East and Turkey.

The increasing governmental support for the local healthcare industry will give an opportunity to the country’s leading healthcare solution providers to introduce their innovative solutions and services in the kingdom, it said.

CGM is keen to contribute towards the development of the sector by offering its industry-leading products such as the Corttex Integrated Hospital Information Management System Environment, the CGM CNG clinical Information Systems, and the iOS-based mobile applications.

Corttex is designed to overcome difficulties in the healthcare environment, building ‘living and evolving,’ ‘sustainable’ and ‘survivable’ solutions that enable healthcare organisations to attain a continuous return of investment while maintaining a low total cost of ownership, it said.

Thomas Reitmayr, vice president – business development, CGMl Central and East Europe, said: “The recent announcement of the Saudi 2014 annual budget for the healthcare sector strongly highlights effective measure on the part of the government for expansion of the healthcare sector. It mentioned the construction of 34 new hospitals and health centres in addition to continuing work on five medical cities and 132 hospitals across the kingdom. The actual figures of the government’s spending translate into huge market prospects and growth potential for the latest medical devices and equipments along with superior healthcare solutions.”

“CGM capitalizes on the bold market opportunities and is constantly keen to back up the market development progress with its leading advanced medical solutions. We have achieved great progress with our local clients so far and look forward to further boost this success and contribute towards the progress and development of the medical sector in Saudi Arabia,” added Mehmet Bilginsoy, general manager, CGM Middle East. – TradeArabia News Service