The number of lab tests in government-run hospitals and central labs rose by 30 percent to reach 149 million tests in 2012 compared to 114 million in 2008, Al-Watan daily said quoting informed medical sources.
Meanwhile, lab tests in government medical centers dropped by 7 percent to 6.3 million compared to 7.6 million tests in the same period, the report said.
Makkah Region captured the highest number of lab tests in its medical centers with 1,309,232 tests in 2012, followed by the Eastern Province (1,230,179), Jazan (666,139), Asir (601,478), Riyadh (520,533), whereas Tabuk Region registered the lowest number of lab tests at 32,293, the report said.
In 2012, Makkah Region with 29,478,674 tests registered the highest number of medical lab tests in its government-run hospitals followed by Riyadh Region (25,666,987), the Eastern Region (21,740,792), Madinah (18,320,049), whereas the Northern Border Region registered the lowest number of lab tests (2,511,488), the report said.