Healthcare development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Australia and the USA : a comparative analysis

Abstract AR

Owing to a continuing population growth, technological advancement, and increased public expectations of higher quality service outcomes, the demand for quality of healthcare provision in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is on the rise.

Several frameworks have been recommended in the literature for its health systems reforms that are primarily built upon three key elements: equity, cost efficiency, and quality.

The objective of this paper is to overview the evolution of health systems of the KSA, Australia, and the USA and compares determinants of their health and healthcare services.

The normative position taken in this paper is to provide the basis for critically examining their performance, and to determine how experiences of the USA and Australia could define the scope for improvements in the KSA.

This paper is written as a critical review based on secondary data sources and is divided into three sections.

The first outlines the historical context of healthcare systems development in the KSA, Australia and the USA.

The second compares a set of their key health Indicators and discusses the results where the results explained that the total causes of death in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is less three times than what is found in Australia and the United States of America.

The third discusses potential contributions to KSA health policy reforms with an emphasis on viability of the privatization policies, the public health and preventive care interventions, and improvement of access to healthcare services vis-à-vis the country’s broader demographic profile.