KARACHI:
Pakistan can truly be proud of the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) because of its role in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. Its efficiency and effectiveness could easily match that of the finest organisations of this nature around the world. The NCOC has proven that a small group of committed professionals, with the help of technology and working without political interventions, can create world class services and systems. Pakistan ought to consider extending this hugely successful model to other functions and organisations for improving its governance.
In order to further enhance progress, the NCOC should now invest in an Electronic Health Record System. Practised in many countries, such a system integrates patients’ health records and drug information, so as to make it accessible to authorised physicians and hospitals. Access to health information like medication lists, immunisation records, allergy lists, lab test results, X-rays and a patient’s medical history will all be in one place. There are very few hospitals in Pakistan that maintain a comprehensive patient record system on a long-term basis. Patients often personally carry their weather-beaten partial records from doctor to doctor, who happily prescribe numerous medicines and lab tests with little knowledge of the patient’s history.
Likewise, the drug information system could electronically document all medications prescribed and dispensed. This tool can enable authorised health care providers to access, manage, share and safeguard patients’ medication histories. This would also create more transparency in managing the dispensation of medicines and medical equipment within regulating bodies.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 15th, 2021.
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