Pims to change treatment policies from April 1

Free services will be provided during morning shift, paid patients in the afternoon

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), which is part of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU), has finally decided to adopt institution-based practices from April 1.

The decision was taken on Wednesday in the 19th meeting of the academic council of SZABMU.

Pims will be the first federal government hospital to start institution-based practice (IBP). The adoption of new policy means assistant professors, associate professors and full professors, will check private patients inside the hospital only in the afternoon, from 4pm to 10pm.

“Patients will receive free health services in the morning, and those who pay for services will be seen by doctors in the afternoon 1,” SZABMU Vice-Chancellor Dr Javed Akram told The Express Tribune.

He said paramedical staff would be given special incentives for working in the afternoon.

Dr Akram said that the purpose of the decision was to ensure the presence of senior doctors in the afternoon, adding that they would also be available for non-paying patients.

It is commonplace for senior doctors to practice at private hospitals in the afternoon.

Dr Akram said that the private patients would be kept separate and 80 per cent of fees would be given to doctors, while 20 per cent would go to the hospital for division among staff as well as for payment of bills and other hospital expenditures.

The vice-chancellor said no doctor could charge more than Rs2,000 in fee from a patient, while fee structure for tests would be 50 per cent less than the prevailing market rates and senior most professors would get market-based salaries.

He said that currently around 170 doctors/professors from Pims were practicing at private hospitals in afternoons, of which 13 were on tenure track system (TTS).

The academic council also decided to give three-month overlapping period to doctors who are already working with other hospitals.

“Half of the doctors have agreed to opt for this scheme,” Dr Akram said, and added that new doctors were being appointed with a mandatory condition that they would not practice at private hospitals.

He said that those doctors drawing non-practicing allowances would also not be allowed to practice at private health institutes.

“To raise the quality of service in public health institutes this trend is being adopted all over the world,” Dr Akram said, and added that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) had already started institution-based practice in October 2015.

He said that the PIMS would also start IBP in nine of its affiliated colleges and hospitals.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2016.