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International Area Studies Review
[ Article ]
International Area Studies Review - Vol. 28, No. 1, pp.88-101
ISSN: 2233-8659 (Print)
Print publication date 31 Mar 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.69473/iasr.2025.28.1.88

Digital Transformation in Healthcare During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from Saudi Arabian Healthcare Managers

Sarah F. Almahfouz ; Abeer M. Alrashed*
Graduate Student, Department of Health Administration, College of Business Administration, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Associate Professor, Department of Health Administration, College of Business Administration, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Correspondence to: *Email: abirashd@ksu.edu.sa

Abstract

During COVID-19 pandemic, digital transformation was urgently necessary for the continuation of services and healthcare was no exception. The study aimed to explore the managers’ experience with digitalization by investigating the current applications, the transformation outcomes, and the future expectations. Eleven 30 to 45 minutes interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of managers working in healthcare organizations in Riyadh. The analysis started by encoding the participants to protect their identities, then the transcripts were thematically analyzed. The findings indicated that the pandemic has played a major role in the use of digital services and accordingly, the digital platforms impacted the delivery of care. The time to perform tasks was shortened and the effectiveness of data management was increased; decision-making was accelerated, and medical errors were reduced. On the other hand, data entry mistakes caused a few incorrect diagnoses, and less time was available to serve patients due to being busy with data entry. In conclusion, the experience with digitalization in healthcare seemed promising although there were some problems. Medical personnel should receive thorough training in data utilization and digital skills, effective policies and systems to protect data privacy are needed and finally, more experts in information technology are needed.

Keywords:

Digital transformation, Digitalization, Saudi Arabia, COVID-19, Healthcare management, Informatic management

AI Acknowledgment

No generative AI or AI-assisted technologies were used in any capacity to prepare, write, or complete essential authoring tasks in this manuscript.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

I declare that there are no conflicts of interest concerning the research and authorship of this article.

Declaration on Funding

I confirm that no funding was received for this research.

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