Connected Care in Saudi Arabia: A 2027 Guide for Healthcare Leaders
What connected care means in Saudi Arabia, the national building blocks already in place, and a five-step 2027 roadmap for providers.
Key takeaways
- Saudi Arabia's digital health rails include Seha Virtual Hospital connecting over 241 hospitals, while the Sehhaty patient app surpassed 31 million users in 2025.
- Although 88% of Saudi consumers are willing to share wearable data, only 46% report that their doctors currently use this information in routine care.
- Connected care creates value by linking hospital, home, and national exchange channels across patient pathways rather than deploying disconnected standalone applications.
Reviewed by the CareSync Medical Team · Last reviewed
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Connected care is a model in which patients, providers, payers and programme teams share the right health information at the right time across every channel: the hospital, the clinic, the home, the app and the call centre. In Saudi Arabia, many of the building blocks already exist: a national virtual hospital, a national patient app, a national exchange platform and a highly digital society. What many providers still lack is the connection between these building blocks and their own patient journeys.
This guide defines connected care in practical terms, reviews what Saudi Arabia already has, and gives leaders a maturity model and a five-step plan for 2027.
Key takeaways
- The national infrastructure is in place. The Ministry of Health reports that Seha Virtual Hospital is connected to 241 hospitals and more than 1,400 primary care centres, and that the Sehhaty app passed 31 million users in 2025.
- Patients are ready. In an EY survey of 1,002 Saudi consumers, 88% were willing to share wearable and health-app data with their providers.
- The gap sits with providers. The same survey found that 46% say their doctors use wearable data — above the global average of 30%, but far below patient willingness.
- Connection is the product. Value comes from linking channels, not from adding another standalone app.
- Start with journeys. Connect one pathway end to end, then expand.
What does connected care include?
| Layer | What it covers | The Saudi building block |
|---|---|---|
| National access | Booking, records, prescriptions, virtual visits | Sehhaty and Seha Virtual Hospital |
| Information exchange | Data shared between providers and payers | The Nphies health information exchange platform |
| Provider channel | A branded app with reminders, follow-up and home care | Hospital and clinic platforms |
| Programme layer | Patient support, outcomes and medication adherence | Pharma and provider programmes |
| Data and governance | Consent, privacy and analytics | Controls aligned with the Personal Data Protection Law |
The Ministry also reports that the Nphies platform supports virtual care by enabling health information exchange between providers, and that Seha Virtual Hospital handled more than 16 million appointments in 2025, according to a Ministry announcement.
How connected is your organisation? A four-stage maturity model
| Stage | Description | Common signs |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Digitised | Records and booking exist, but channels are separate | Patients call to confirm; follow-up is manual |
| 2. Engaged | A branded app or channel for reminders and messages | Fewer no-shows; no link to the clinical record |
| 3. Integrated | The channel reads from and writes to the hospital system and exchange platforms | Follow-up status is visible to clinicians |
| 4. Fully connected | Outcomes, remote data and programmes feed one picture of the patient | Teams act on patient and home data |
Where are patients ahead of providers?
| Signal | The patient side | The system side |
|---|---|---|
| Digital tracking | 78% of Saudis track their health digitally, versus 57% globally | Few providers receive this data in routine care |
| Data sharing | 88% are willing to share | 46% say their doctors use it |
| Comfort with AI | 75% are comfortable with AI across the patient journey | Governance frameworks are still developing |
| Trust | 89% trust healthcare practitioners | Trust is the foundation to build on |
A five-step plan for 2027
- Choose one pathway. Chronic disease, post-discharge or specialty treatment are common starting points.
- Map the channels. List every point where patient information is created or requested.
- Connect the essentials. Appointments, results and follow-up status first.
- Add the patient's voice. Outcomes and home data, with consent.
- Measure, then scale. Track follow-up completion, no-shows and outcomes, then add the next pathway.
How CareSync helps
CareSync is a white-label digital health ecosystem developed in Riyadh. CareSync Network (for hospital groups), CareSync Clinic (for clinics) and CareSync PSP Connect (for pharmaceutical patient support programmes) are designed to give providers a branded, Arabic-first channel that connects to existing systems and national platforms, with the integration scope agreed for each deployment. CareSync does not replace your information system or the national services.
Frequently asked questions
What is connected care? Care in which patient, provider, payer and programme information flows across channels in a shared way.
What is the difference between connected care and telemedicine? Telemedicine is one channel. Connected care links every channel, including in-person, home-based, remote monitoring and outcomes.
Does connected care need a national platform? National platforms provide access and exchange. Providers still need their own channel and integration to connect their journeys.
What is a connected care platform? Software that links appointments, communication, follow-up, remote data and outcomes to the clinical record and external platforms.
What should leaders measure? Follow-up completion, no-shows, escalation time, readmissions and patient-reported outcomes.
Is patient data safe in connected care? Health data is sensitive under the Personal Data Protection Law, so consent, access control and secure hosting are designed in from the start.
Build the connections that matter
Saudi Arabia has built the national rails. The next advantage belongs to the providers who connect their journeys to them.
Mapping your connected care roadmap? Book a demo with CareSync.
About CareSync
Prepared by the CareSync Medical Team. This article is educational, not medical advice or a substitute for clinical, legal or regulatory review. Research findings are source-specific, not measured CareSync outcomes.
Sources
- Ministry of Health. Virtual care: breaking boundaries in advanced healthcare, 9 August 2026.
- Ministry of Health. Seha Virtual Hospital 2025 results, 27 January 2026.
- EY. Navigating the future of health in Saudi Arabia, 2 September 2026.