Knowledge management initiative at the Ministry of Health in the Kingdom of Bahrain: a case study
| Date | 24 October 2008 |
| Pages | 535-553 |
| Published date | 24 October 2008 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/03055720810917769 |
| Author | Ebrahim Al Nawakda,Abdul Hameed Fathi,Vincent Ribière,Mirghani Mohammed |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Knowledge management initiative
at the Ministry of Health in the
Kingdom of Bahrain: a case study
Ebrahim Al Nawakda and Abdul Hameed Fathi
Ministry of Health, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
Vincent Ribie
`re
Institute for Knowledge and Innovation (iKi-SEA), Bangkok University,
Bangkok, Thailand, and
Mirghani Mohammed
New York Institute of Technology, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
Abstract
Purpose – This case study aims to present the implementation of knowledge management (KM) in
the Ministry of Health (MoH) of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Ministry is a very complex environment
and it is suffering from information overload. The health care industry is a very intensive knowledge
field where experience and tacit knowledge play an important part in delivering efficient health care to
the nation.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of a case study conducted by people
involved in the implementation of the KM initiative at the MoH and by the observation and interviews
conducted by external researchers.
Findings – The paper finds that the implementing of KM had many positive impacts on the MoH in
terms of planning and decision making. Even though it is difficult to create a knowledge sharing
culture in an environment under pressure involving medical and administrative staff, the initial KM
initiatives implemented at the MoH of Bahrain are believed to be the start for a serious and
comprehensive KM drive within the Ministry in the coming few years.
Originality/value – The lessons learned from this case can help other health organizations to better
understand the barriers and enablers associated with implementing a KM initiative in a complex
environment.
Keywords Health services,Bahrain, Knowledge management, Communication technologies,
Decision making
Paper type Case study
1. Introduction
The ambitious program of change instituted by His Majesty Sheikh Hamad Bin Isa bin
Salman Al-Khalifa the King of Bahrain, has enhanced the development of a modern,
technologically advanced and comprehensive healthcare system in the Kingdom of
Bahrain. These recent developments have built on the long history of successful
improvements that extend back to the establishment of the first government hospital in
the 1940s. Confirmation of this successful track record is reflected in the Human
Development Index report published by the Financial Research Center (UNDP, 2004) in
Boston, USA, which stated that Bahrain was a healthcare pioneer among the Arab
nations. A series of reforms and initiatives that have been launched by the Ministry of
Health (MoH) have led to significant improvements in the quality of health care being
offered to the citizens of Bahrain. The introduction of e.government initiatives linked to
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KM initiative at
the MoH
535
VINE: The journal of information and
knowledge management systems
Vol. 38 No. 4, 2008
pp. 535-553
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0305-5728
DOI 10.1108/03055720810917769
smart card technology will help to facilitate communications between government and
private healthcare sectors in terms of information and knowledge sharing. These
achievements have encouraged the government to further promote the Kingdom as a
center of excellence and as a regional role model in health care delivery.
1.1. Background
The MoH is one of the 19 ministries of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Ministry is a
member of the Council of Ministers chaired by the Prime Minister of the Kingdom and
employs about 9,000 employees. The MoH operates a general hospital called Salmaniya
Medical Complex (SMC). Along with the SMC there are five maternity hospitals
distributed across the Island, one psychiatric, and one geriatric hospital (Table I). A
new general hospital (King Hamad Hospital) with 311 beds will be established in
Muharraq for secondary and tertiary health care should be operational, in late 2009.
The Primary Health Care and Mother and Child services are offered through a
network of 22 health centers and clinics, plus several specialized clinics for chronic
diseases. In 2007 there were 3,265,356 outpatients (primary and preventive healthca re)
at health centers including general clinics (both morning and evening session), dental
services, mother and child care outpatients, and Bahrain International Airport Clinic
(Table II).
The Health Information Directorate (HID) is a directorate within the Ministry of Health
located in Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC). The HID is responsible for all information
systems and information technology deployment in the Ministry of Health. This
primarily consists of a comprehensive centralized suite of health management
applications servicing the public hospitals and health centers in the country, as well as
Services Total outpatients
General clinics (GP, fast clinic, postnatal, child
screening, post abortion, and premarital counseling) 2,881,898
Dental 281,017
Diabetic 20,877
Antenatal care 67,750
Bahrain International Airport Clinic 13,814
Immunizations 437,837
Source: Bahrain health statistics (MoH, 2007)
Table II.
Statistics of the
outpatients provided by
different Bahrain MoH
services
Description
Operating
beds
Total annual
outpatients
Total annual
admission
Salmaniya Medical Complex 895 518,287 46,738
Psychiatric hospital 214 40,599 1,112
Geriatric hospital and long stay wards 149 NA 165
Maternity hospitals 117 NA 7,031
Source: Bahrain health statistics (MoH, 2007)
Table I.
description of MoH
facilities in Bahrain
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