“Health Ministry” to implement ‘Smart Fingerprint’ for employees from Sunday

The Ministry of Health is set to implement the Smart Fingerprint system for its employees, totaling approximately 70,000 individuals, including doctors, administrators, technicians, pharmacists, and nurses. The system will be rolled out starting next Sunday.

Informed health sources told Al Jarida that the Ministry of Health will proceed with the implementation of the fingerprint system on the scheduled date set about a month ago, despite encountering some technical issues. The most notable of these problems is difficulty with registering for the program, which has led some employees to seek assistance from their respective health regions in order to complete the registration process.

The sources emphasized that the relevant technical sectors within the Ministry of Health have been working diligently for several days to resolve the issues surrounding the smart fingerprint application. They noted that the ministry has adopted the smart fingerprint system for all employees, effective from 5 January 2025, as part of its broader plan to enhance digital transformation and achieve the highest standards of governance.

The smart fingerprint system aims to streamline the attendance and departure process for all ministry employees, thereby improving administrative efficiency and ensuring the accuracy of data.

The sources revealed that the Ministry of Health provided a detailed explanation of the smart fingerprint system’s operation in a meeting held yesterday, attended by doctors and administrators at the ministry’s theater.

However, concerns have been raised by some employees regarding the downloading of the smart fingerprint application. Health sources informed Al Jarida a few days ago that several doctors had deleted the application, citing privacy violations. These concerns stemmed from the system’s continuous tracking and monitoring of doctors outside of official working hours, including 24/7 surveillance.

The sources confirmed that the Ministry of Health may take legal measures against employees who fail to download the smart fingerprint application. In a separate development, the ministry has started installing electronic gates at the entrances of its general office in the Sulaibikhat area for employees.

Informed sources confirmed that the Ministry of Health will issue smart IDs to its employees working in the ministry’s general office for building access. Additionally, employees from the Citizen Service Department will be tasked with receiving public inquiries, addressing issues, and managing files. They will coordinate with officials to resolve public concerns or facilitate meetings between the public and relevant ministry representatives.

The sources indicated that the Ministry of Health will soon begin activating the electronic portals once all related arrangements have been completed.