Health Industries

Healthcare clients in the Middle East face a perfect storm, which creates a unique opportunity for healthcare reform and development across the Region.

PwC takes a highly holistic approach to the health industries sector in the Middle East. We believe that health issues impact on a wide range of economic and functional aspects of any economy which go way beyond the traditional view that health means hospitals.

The key players in this view of the world are:

Governments which set policy, and national health planning frameworks, often fund, usually regulate and frequently provide at least some health services;
Payers whether they be national funds or private insurers;
Providers including the full range of direct providers such as hospitals, primary and community based clinicians as well as the new generation of health delivery support business in industries ranging from telcos to food manufacturers;
Suppliers those essential stakeholders in the health industries continuum which support health goals through the development of products ranging from pharmaceuticals to imaging equipment; and
Users often forgotten as the most important component part of a sustainable health system engagement with, education of and incentivisation for the users of any health system is key to the success of all the above mentioned stakeholders.

Whilst healthcare costs rise with a growing population, whom suffer at a young age from multiple long term conditions (e.g. strokes in 40s are common), and whom are increasingly demanding and tech savvy, the system is designed along 1950s western lines-large specialist hospitals able to deliver high cost care in episodes. And oil at 40 USD barrel seems to be here for some time. Meanwhile:

There are major capacity gaps, especially in workforce, which when filled will increase costs
As far as can be assessed, there are major quality gaps, with low trust in local provision by nationals and expats
The system is inefficient and fragmented
What productivity measures there are, are poor (Length of Stay, occupancy)
Overall there is very little data availability at providers, at a national level; or for the public to see
Privatisation is seen as a key answer to many of these problems
Some providers look to build their capability through the addition of specialty clinics