An Exploratory Study on the Drivers for Privatisation within the Saudi Arabian Health Sector: A Literature Review

Abstract

Healthcare organizations are prone to change for various reasons. There are a variety of key drivers that enforce change within the health sector such as socio-economical, political, environmental, technological and demographic drivers. Change in healthcare is often described as multi-dimensional and multi-faceted with competing drivers that make it a complex, on-going and continuous process. This dissertation aims to investigate the drivers of privatization within the health sector in Saudi Arabia. Then, it will investigate the similarities/differences between drivers for privatization in Saudi Arabia and other countries. It will address the research question by conducting a structured evidence review and narrative synthesis. This was carried out using a systematic approach and primarily involved database searches. The rising costs of health services, demographic change, the scarce of resources, poor management and the need to restructure the health sector are factors that led to the privatization of the health sector. Saudi Arabia share the same drivers for privatization with other countries worldwide as the country aims to reduce the governmental expenditure on health services by sharing costs and risks with the private sector and to increase the private investment within the sector as well as restructure the health sector in a way that can increase the quality of services, innovation and the accessibility to the services.