Saudi Arabia Advances Medication-Safety Reforms with Medi-Span Decision Support Deployment
Kingdom tackles high error rates in medication orders through electronic health-record integration of Wolters Kluwer’s Medi-Span suite
Saudi Arabia is intensifying efforts to strengthen its healthcare system by enhancing medication safety through advanced clinical decision-support technology.
As part of its Health Sector Transformation Programme under Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s healthcare administrators have zeroed in on one key area: reducing medication-error rates that remain unacceptably high in several hospitals.
Studies indicate that pharmaceutical errors in Saudi hospitals range from 13 to 56 per one hundred medication orders, reflecting the pressing need for systemic change.
To address this, the Kingdom’s National Medical Care Company (NMCC) has selected Wolters Kluwer’s Medi-Span® drug-data and screening platform.
The system has been integrated into the company’s EMR (electronic medical record) suite, CareWare, and is designed to support clinicians by delivering intelligent alerts, context-aware prescribing guidance and real-time medication-safety screening.
NMCC’s Chief Information Technology Officer, Eng.
Ibrahim Al Ammar, emphasised that earlier reliance on printed formularies and pharmacist memory is being supplanted by integrated decision support that uses lab results, patient age and renal-function data to deliver tailored alerts at the point of care.
The system’s deployment is already credited with reducing medication-error incidents by around 40 percent, according to NMCC internal reporting.
The broader regulatory framework has also been strengthened.
The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) recently issued updated guidance reminding healthcare workers, patients and other stakeholders of their role in medication-error reporting.
The new guidance references the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP) taxonomy and has streamlined the national “Tiqaz” electronic reporting system.
Analysts highlight three enablers of this transformation: the adoption of structured competency training for healthcare professionals, the fostering of a non-punitive error-reporting culture and the deployment of sophisticated IT solutions such as computerised physician-order entry (CPOE) and decision-support alerts.
By combining these elements with NMCC’s implementation of Medi-Span, Saudi Arabia aims to embed a safer, more predictive model of medication management.
As the national healthcare model shifts from volume-based to value-based care, medication safety becomes a critical lever for improving patient outcomes and reducing avoidable harm.
Saudi officials say the initiative also aligns with the desire to use data-driven insights for population health management and improved clinician workflows.
While challenges like staff training costs and alert-fatigue management remain, the early results of the Medi-Span rollout at NMCC point to meaningful progress in Saudi Arabia’s ambition to deliver safer and smarter healthcare across the Kingdom.
As part of its Health Sector Transformation Programme under Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s healthcare administrators have zeroed in on one key area: reducing medication-error rates that remain unacceptably high in several hospitals.
Studies indicate that pharmaceutical errors in Saudi hospitals range from 13 to 56 per one hundred medication orders, reflecting the pressing need for systemic change.
To address this, the Kingdom’s National Medical Care Company (NMCC) has selected Wolters Kluwer’s Medi-Span® drug-data and screening platform.
The system has been integrated into the company’s EMR (electronic medical record) suite, CareWare, and is designed to support clinicians by delivering intelligent alerts, context-aware prescribing guidance and real-time medication-safety screening.
NMCC’s Chief Information Technology Officer, Eng.
Ibrahim Al Ammar, emphasised that earlier reliance on printed formularies and pharmacist memory is being supplanted by integrated decision support that uses lab results, patient age and renal-function data to deliver tailored alerts at the point of care.
The system’s deployment is already credited with reducing medication-error incidents by around 40 percent, according to NMCC internal reporting.
The broader regulatory framework has also been strengthened.
The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) recently issued updated guidance reminding healthcare workers, patients and other stakeholders of their role in medication-error reporting.
The new guidance references the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP) taxonomy and has streamlined the national “Tiqaz” electronic reporting system.
Analysts highlight three enablers of this transformation: the adoption of structured competency training for healthcare professionals, the fostering of a non-punitive error-reporting culture and the deployment of sophisticated IT solutions such as computerised physician-order entry (CPOE) and decision-support alerts.
By combining these elements with NMCC’s implementation of Medi-Span, Saudi Arabia aims to embed a safer, more predictive model of medication management.
As the national healthcare model shifts from volume-based to value-based care, medication safety becomes a critical lever for improving patient outcomes and reducing avoidable harm.
Saudi officials say the initiative also aligns with the desire to use data-driven insights for population health management and improved clinician workflows.
While challenges like staff training costs and alert-fatigue management remain, the early results of the Medi-Span rollout at NMCC point to meaningful progress in Saudi Arabia’s ambition to deliver safer and smarter healthcare across the Kingdom.
