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KFSHRC's DCEO Highlights Medical Tourism Growth at Arab Health 2025 - Middle East Business News and Information

KFSHRC's DCEO Highlights Medical Tourism Growth at Arab Health 2025 - Middle East Business News and Information

Mid East Info28-01-2025
Advanced Tech and Global Collaborations Attract Patients from 17 Countries.
Riyadh:
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSHRC) Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Björn Zoëga, represented KFSHRC at the region's premier healthcare event, Arab Health 2025, held recently in Dubai. Dr. Zoëga participated in a panel discussion titled 'Investing in KSA's Healthcare Future'.
The panel discussion emphasized KFSHRC's critical contributions to advancing Saudi Arabia's healthcare sector and its ambition to become a global healthcare hub. Dr. Zoëga highlighted how KFSHRC's adoption of advanced technologies, including AI-powered diagnostics, robotic-assisted surgeries, and telemedicine services, supports the Kingdom's Health Sector Transformation Program. These innovations enhance the quality and accessibility of care, attracting 46,476 new patients in 2024, including a 47.39% increase in medical tourism cases with patients from 17 countries, reinforcing Saudi Arabia's position as a global healthcare hub.
Dr. Zoëga underscored KFSHRC's global collaborations, which have facilitated knowledge exchange and introduced best practices into Saudi Arabia's healthcare ecosystem.
King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre is a 2443-bed tertiary/quaternary care hospital with facilities in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Madinah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It has over 17,000 employees from over 63 nationalities. KFSHRC specialises in inpatient and outpatient medical care, with excellent centers in Oncology, Organ Transplantation, Cardiovascular Diseases, Neurosciences, and Genetic Diseases. It is recognised and ranked globally as one of the top hospitals, as on Newsweek's and Brand Finance's World's Best Hospitals—Top 250 lists. KFSHRC's International Services adhere to the highest global standards, reflected in the performance of 5K+ bone marrow and 4K+ solid organ transplants, 3K+ robotic-assisted procedures, 2K+ submitted cardiovascular inpatients annually, and much more.
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