The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS), issued a report highlighting the integration of Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (IPECP) across various levels of health education in the Kingdom, including undergraduate and postgraduate studies. The initiative aims to strengthen teamwork and improve the quality of healthcare services.
The report indicated that there is strong leadership support and growing institutional momentum toward implementing interprofessional education and collaborative practice across health specialties. This is reflected in the increasing number of published research studies among universities across the Kingdom, in addition to limited educational activities within health programs. Despite this progress, the report identified several challenges, most notably the absence of a unified competency framework for interprofessional education and collaborative practice, confusion between interprofessional and multidisciplinary education concepts, limited faculty development programs tailored to this educational approach, and the need to develop reliable and sustainable educational assessment tools.
The report recommended establishing a unified competency framework for interprofessional education and collaborative practice aligned with national and international standards for health education. It also recommended the formation of a national regulatory body dedicated to governing interprofessional education and collaborative practice across health specialties, in addition to proposing a phased implementation mechanism focused on a clear methodology to strengthen high-impact competencies and achieve the intended outcomes. Furthermore, the report emphasized investing in faculty development and linking assessment and academic accreditation to clear performance indicators that include interprofessional education and collaborative practice.
The report concluded by noting that the Kingdom’s interprofessional education and collaborative practice initiative is currently classified at the “development” stage, with institutional interest and supportive infrastructure already in place. It emphasized that broader implementation requires clear regulatory frameworks, coordinated governance, sustainable capacity building, and effective evaluation mechanisms to ensure measurable and accreditable educational outcomes.
The report can be accessed through the following link: Here