E-Health status in Saudi Arabia: A review of current literature

• E-health in Saudi Arabia is growing in interests and applications.
• The literature on this topic is still limited to few organizations.
• It is important to understand the current status of e-health in Saudi Arabia.
• Knowledge gained may as well be of benefit to other developing countries.
• We need more studies to investigate challenges & suggested recommendations.

Due to recent and growing interest in e-health initiatives in Saudi Arabia, improving the state of knowledge pertaining to current e-health programs, initiatives, and efforts is of critical importance to academics, clinicians, and policy makers. In this research review the literature on specific applications of e-health in Saudi Arabia is considered, including studies investigating Electronic Health Records (EHR), Electronic Medical Records (EMR), studies investigating Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) and Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS). Moreover, this paper explores studies on telemedicine, mobile health, and other e-health applications. The findings reveal evidence that e-health in Saudi Arabia is growing as many organizational and individual initiatives have implemented e-health applications. However, the number of studies available about e-health in Saudi Arabia remains low. Data is limited to a few organizations and does not necessarily reflect the breadth and depth of the current and potential use of e-health for healthcare organizations in the region.