Use of information and mobile computing technologies in healthcare facilities of Saudi Arabia

Information technology forms an important part of the healthcare solution. Accurate and up-to-date information is essential to continuous quality improvement in any organization, and particularly so in an area as complex as healthcare. Therefore, diverse information systems must be integrated across the healthcare enterprise. The knowledge base in the medical field is large, complex, and growing rapidly. It includes scientific knowledge, as well as familiarity with the day-to-day business of providing healthcare. It is crucial to identify the processes in the healthcare sector that would most benefit from the support of information technology. This study is focused on the analysis and design of comprehensive patient healthcare system (CPHS), which comprises two large subsystems, computerized patient record system (CPRS) and mobile computing clinical system (MCCS). It is anticipated that, this innovated system would not only serve as an application of state-of-the-art information and mobile computing technologies, but it would also provide clinical services at point of care in Saudi Arabia hospitals. Use of such technologies with highly efficient techniques for essential information gathering in a timely and cost effective manner in hospital sites is critical in order to understand how to enhance quality health care services to improve the life of patients and rapid decisions making. The design and development of CPHS would therefore pave the way for opening new venues in which such highly advanced information and mobile computing technologies are employed in the hospitals and other sectors beyond the field of medical care.