Prime Highlights-
- Seha Virtual Hospital completes 11 remote robotic surgeries, including a rare remote lobectomy and pneumonectomy.
- Robotic systems used carry Saudi Food and Drug Authority approval and meet Kingdom safety standards.
Key Facts-
- Seha Virtual Hospital links to 241 hospitals and over 1,400 health centres across 114 specialties.
- The Sehhaty app passed 31 million users in 2025, offering AI-powered health tools and virtual care.
Background-
Saudi Arabia’s Seha Virtual Hospital carried out 11 consecutive remote robotic surgeries, letting patients get treated without traveling to a hospital. A Riyadh-based surgical team performed the procedures on patients in Hail and other Riyadh-area locations, part of a network growing to cover more sites across the Kingdom, including remote regions.
The list of procedures spanned a right lower-lobe resection, marking only the second remote lobectomy performed worldwide, plus the fifth remote pneumonectomy done globally, along with sleeve gastrectomy, hernia repair, pelvic exploration and hysterectomy.
These surgeries fall under the Saudi protocol for remote surgical procedures, a national framework Seha Virtual Hospital set up to regulate robotic medical work under quality and safety rules. The robotic systems in use carry approval from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority and meet the Kingdom’s regulatory standards.
The Ministry of Health keeps pushing digital tools and AI to bring care closer to people, supporting the Health Sector Transformation Program under Saudi Vision 2030, which has redirected healthcare toward prevention and better population health outcomes.
Guinness World Records lists Seha Virtual Hospital as the world’s largest virtual hospital. It links to 241 hospitals and over 1,400 health centres, covering 114 specialties and letting facilities in Saudi Arabia and abroad tap into specialist expertise remotely.
Care has also reached homes through the Sehhaty app, which crossed 31 million users in 2025 and covers appointment booking, prescription reviews and sick leave requests, backed by tools like a digital twin for personalised health guidance and a smart assistant for reading medical results.
