MOH, Private Sector to Form Joint Committee

The Ministry of Health is to set up a joint committee with the private sector, to regularize health care services in the private sector hospitals and health care institutions throughout the Kingdom.

An official from the ministry said plans were discussed, at a meeting chaired by Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah held at the ministry's headquarters in Riyadh on Monday.

Officials from the Ministry of Health, Council of Saudi Chambers and local investors attended the meeting.

During the meeting, Al-Rabeeah emphasized the ministry's focus on "patients first", a health care service offered by the ministry to the people. He pointed out, that with the private sector's participation and active involvement, the ministry would be able to offer better health services for the benefit of the people.

Al-Rabeeah Wins Top Medical Award

Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah has been named the recipient of the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences for outstanding medical personalities in the Arab world, the Ministry of Health (MoH) announced here yesterday.

An MoH official said the minister will be honored with the award at the 7th Dubai International Conference for Medical Sciences which will be held on Monday at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibitions Center.

The prize comes in appreciation of Al-Rabeeah's contributions to the development of health sector and to other humanitarian medical services at a global level.

During the award ceremony, Al-Rabeeah is slated to deliver a talk on his experience on separation of conjoined twins in the Kingdom.

Children Get Hearing-aid Implants

A specialized medical team has succeeded in implanting cochlear electronic implants on four children aged between three and six at King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Dammam.

Soda May Worsen Knee Osteoarthritis in Men

Men with osteoarthritis of the knee may want to avoid sugar-packed soft drinks. That's the advice of researchers who found that drinking sugary soda is associated with progression of the disease in men.

Drug Shows Promise for Lupus Skin Conditions

A drug related to thalidomide may be more potent and less toxic than thalidomide, which is often used to treat lupus skin conditions.

In a small study from Spain, lupus patients showed dramatic improvements in skin lesions while taking the drug, lenalidomide (Revlimid), and most relapsed soon after they stopped taking it.

Thalidomide's Infamous Past

Thalidomide is best known as the drug that caused thousands of children to be born with missing limbs and other birth defects in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

School Health Move Involves 5,000 Staff

The Cabinet decision to move health units of schools from the jurisdiction of the Ministry Education to that of Health will involve 5,000 doctors, nurses and administrators.

But it is expected that all assets and equipment will remain the property of the Ministry of Education.

Makkah Hospital Sued Over Death of Fetus

MAKKAH — A Saudi has accused the Maternity and Children's Hospital in Makkah of being responsible for the death of his grandchild while it was still in the womb of the mother.

He said negligence of the hospital's staff and the delay of delivery caused the death of his unborn grandchild.

The grandfather, Saad Al-Qarni, said he had sent a cable to the health minister requesting him to stop all those who caused the death of his grandchild from work until the case was investigated and also to prevent them from traveling outside the Kingdom. "I also asked the minister to preserve the medical file so as to prevent any change in the data," he said.

No Support in Study for Back Belts...

No Support in Study for Back Belts as Injury Preventers

MOH's Report on its Achievements...

MOH's Report on its Achievements, Projects and Health Services

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has issued a report on its achievements, projects and health services, within the framework of the ten-year health plan, which comes as part of the Ministry's strategic plan.

It was His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, who wrote the opening statement of the report, it which he said, "It is no secret that the vision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, as well as our dear citizens' aspirations, go beyond the current achievements." Meanwhile, he called upon all MOH employees to work day and night, and spare no effort in an endeavor to realize this vision and attain these aspirations, with a view to ensuring a bright future, where all citizens can enjoy best-quality, world-class health service over the few years to come.

Vision Problems Rising Rapidly in the U.S.

The diabetes and obesity epidemics may be fueling a dramatic rise in the number of people with vision problems, a new study suggests.

Rates of vision problems that can't be treated with glasses or contact lenses, known as nonrefractive vision problems, increased by 21% between two survey periods: 1999 to 2002 and 2005 to 2008. The findings suggest that as many as 700,000 more people developed these types of vision problems in a short amount of time.