KFSH&RC: Journey of transformation in a tertiary care hospital
KFH&RC is the leading tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia. KFSH&RC is JCI, MAGNET, and HIMSS 7 accredited hospital. KFSH&RC is Saudi Arabia’s leading tertiary & quaternary hospital. KFSH&RC endorsed a transformational initiative to become a financially sustainable, efficient not-for-profit foundation. The initiative has 13 components with value based healthcare as a key cross-cutting theme.
Multiple Integrated Practice Units (IPUs) have been established within the Organization. The IPUs model was introduced to organize care around complex tertiary conditions. For example, KFSH&RC is the leading regional center for Epilepsy and movement disorders, including surgical interventions. Care for patients with refractory epilepsy is delivered in an integrated practice unit that brings together clinicians, surgeons, and the support teams and services that all manage aspects of refractory epilepsy over the full cycle of care. This model has been applied to multiple tertiary care conditions such as organ transplant, oncology, cardiology, neurosciences, and medical genetics, to maximize value and improve access to care for the community.
Clinical pathways, care sets and decision support tools have been implemented across different specialized tertiary care conditions. Access to and coordination of care for those patients has been further enhanced through expanding virtual care capabilities and establishing 25 health outreach coordinating offices across the whole country (Saudi Arabia is 5 times the size of Germany). In addition, patients have been empowered with full access to their medical records, including access to relevant educational materials and the ability to modify appointment times and modality (physical vs virtual), as well as incorporating the provision of access to urgent care services as part of the full cycle of care.
KFSH&RC Transformation Initiative Main Achievements:
476,860 additional ambulatory tertiary care visits were gained in 2021, an increase of 37.4% compared to 2020.
429 additional solid organs were transplanted in 2021, an increase by 93% compared to 2020, with survival rates matching international benchmarks..
106 additional epilepsy surgeries were done in 2021, an increase by 61% compared to 2020.
1,577 more new cancer patients were accepted in 2021, an increase by 47% compared to 2020, with records of 5 years survival rates matching international benchmarks.
Reduction in the ALOS by 12% and improvement in bed occupancy by 18% in 2021 compared to 2020.
Same Day Admission for surgeries improved by 58% compared to 2021
An overall savings in 2021 of $US 505 million, $US132 million (7%) is attributable to KFSH&RC budget, the other $US 373 million was a saving to the country.
Gained value and financial savings have enabled greater numbers of patients to be accepted and treated, including the domiciliation of advanced specialized cutting edge medical technologies and therapeutic interventions. Domiciliation is a term which refers to treating the citizens of Saudi Arabia locally, rather than sending them and their families overseas for tertiary care treatments, which has been costing Saudi Arabia billions in treatment and accommodation costs for patients and families, as well as lost productivity, not to mention family dislocation and lost opportunities to develop local treatment capacity. In 2021, KFSH&RC treated 20 patients (14 adults and 6 pediatrics) under the CAR T-Cell Therapy Program, with 90% success rate.