Patients Know Best has launched in Saudi Arabia, providing an educational collaboration with Al Maarefa University, integrating the Patients Know Best (PKB) platform into its core curriculum.
The university programme officially kicked off with Dr. Mohammad Al Ubaydli, CEO and founder of PKB, delivering a lecture to Al Maarefa University students from various programmes, including medicine, nursing, respiratory care, emergency medical science and anaesthesia technology. It focused on the role of personal health records and the importance of this topic to health information systems (HIS) students at Al Maarefa University.
It forms part of “PKB’s decade-plus-old global pro bono education programme”, designed to address the profound transformation in healthcare by preparing students to thrive in a digitally-enabled, patient-centric environment. Since its launch in 2014, around 5,400 students across the globe have participated.
PKB said: “The Al Maarefa partnership directly addresses the cultural and demographic shifts in the region. Saudi Arabia has a highly digital population where 65% are under the age of 30. These patients increasingly expect collaborative, tech-enabled engagement from their healthcare providers.”
The university’s programme will use the PKB platform for essential simulated activities, including consultation skills training, complex case study review, and interprofessional problem-based learning. This hands-on experience provides students with practical, safe training in a world where patients have real-time access to their records, enabling them to build the skills for the most productive clinician-patient partnerships.
There are three assignments related to PKB for students this year, each coordinated by both Associate Prof Dr. Nasriah Zakaria and Eng. Ghaith Koushaji at the College of Applied Medical Sciences at Al Maarefa University.
Dr Nasriah Zakaria commented: “We are extremely pleased to introduce the PKB platform to our students. By integrating this cutting-edge technology into our curriculum for 180 students in the Computer for Health Science Course and 20 students in our Health Information Systems programme, we are aggressively modernising our educational approach.
“Specifically, the collaboration with PKB will teach students how a personal health record is designed and how it can be used effectively by both patients and healthcare providers in the coming years.”
Dr. Mohammad Al Ubaydli, CEO and founder of Patients Know Best, added: “Al Maarefa was the first private university in KSA to launch problem-based learning, it’s natural they are first in the kingdom to pioneer personal health records in their curriculum. This is about more than deploying our software; it’s about investing in the future of clinical practice. The students here will work with one of the most digitally savvy and youngest populations globally. This programme ensures they are not just medically knowledgeable, but culturally prepared to partner with patients in a digital age.”
Wider trend: Digital patient transformation
Patients Know Best has been selected to provide a single patient record system for the Government of Lagos State in Nigeria, forming part of a partnership between Interswitch Group and the government to introduce the Lagos Smart Health Information Platform.
A recent HTN Now panel discussion covered how to advance patient engagement using communication tech and patient portals, exploring adoption, engagement, the use of AI and automation technologies, functionality and the future role of patient portals and communication tech in tackling NHS challenges. We were joined by Jothi Vasan-O’Leary, medical information officer and outpatient clinical lead (GIRFT) at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton; Daniel Parkinson, digital IT project manager at Leeds Teaching Hospitals; Sally Mole, senior digital programme manager – digital portfolio delivery team at The Dudley Group; and Emma Stratful, chief operating officer at OX.DH.
Earlier this year, HTN was joined for a panel discussion on transformation in women’s health by experts including Saima Sharif, NHS obstetrician & gynaecologist, North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust and digital/AI adopter for women’s health; Dr Nikita Kanani MBE, GP and chief strategy and innovation officer at Aneira Health; Sally Mole, senior digital programme manager – digital portfolio delivery team at The Dudley Group; and Vicky Rothwell, lead enterprise architect, Aire Logic.
