| Purpose of study. To develop a national policy to improve healthcare delivery in Saudi Arabia through the use of the WWW and Web accessible healthcare information resources. In addition, this study sought to develop a report on the status of the availability of healthcare information to healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia when utilizing the Web, and how healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia envision the status of the availability of healthcare information to healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia 10 years from now when utilizing the Web.; Design. In the policy development phase, Phase I, three rounds of Delphi questionnaires were administered to a panel of healthcare professionals who are familiar with the Saudi healthcare system. Through Delphi iterations, the healthcare professionals were given the chance to reach consensus on the status of the availability of healthcare information to them when using the Web, and how they envision the status of the availability of healthcare information to them in 10 years when using the Web. In the policy assessment phase, Phase II, policy recommendations have been created based on the results of the Delphi iterations and the researcher's review of the literature, on what Saudi Arabia should do over the next 10 years to improve the use of healthcare information resources accessible over the Web, in order to improve the healthcare delivery system. During this phase, telephone interviews were conducted with key Saudi health decision makers, to obtain their perceptions of the feasibility of the policy recommendations for adoption and implementation by the Saudi government.; Findings. The Delphi process revealed that healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia are keen on having good access to healthcare information resources readily available on the Web. The final policy recommendations did not differ much from those proposed by the Delphi panel suggesting that there is a general agreement on the importance and the feasibility of having these healthcare information resources available to healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia. By combining the report with the proposed policies, interested policy makers in Saudi Arabia should have an initial action plan to build upon and enhance in the planning for healthcare information access and utilization in Saudi Arabia. |
