Background: With travel medicine (TM) becoming a rapidly developing field and with an increasing need of advice for an increasing population of international travelers, training in TM is needed. The strengths and weaknesses of TM therefore should be evaluated at the primary care level to improve their quality. This study aimed to evaluate the current state of TM in primary health care centers in Riyadh city.

Methods: A multistage stratified random sampling approach. The process involved selecting physicians from PHC centers in Riyadh. A total of 25 health centers were drawn from the north, south, east, west, and middle regions of Riyadh. Participants in general health clinics were selected randomly and all TM providers in Riyadh City were surveyed.  Primary data were obtained from 23 physicians and 7 TM physicians using quantitative as well as qualitative data collection methods. 

Results: Of the 30 physicians surveyed, 16 (53.3%) were male and 16 (53.3%) were of Saudi nationality. The mean age was 41 with a standard deviation of 11 years. The study found 71.4% of TM physicians clinics provided only pre-travel consultations while 56.5% of general practitioners provided both pre- and post-travel consultations. Technological resources were found to be low, and the physicians’ knowledge scores were not high (mean=5.1 out of 11 with a standard deviation of 2.7). The physicians identified deficiencies in vaccine shortage, training, and awareness. 

Conclusions: This study may be considered a snapshot for the primary healthcare sector of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). With the substandard level of care found to be provided, it is paramount that support be offered to provide more education in TM. Because of the general lack of awareness among doctors and the community that necessitates program and awareness development, the structure of travel medicine clinics at health centres should be revisited.