Medical innovation: ‘Urgent need to modernise healthcare’

Experts say lives can be transformed through use of technology

LAHORE: Without resorting to modern methods of medical technology, it is impossible to provide healthcare facilities to each patient in Pakistan, health experts concluded on Friday.

They were speaking at a conference on ‘Revolutionising the Healthcare Delivery in Pakistan,’ organised by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Lahore Chapter at the Royal Palm Club on Friday. A large number of entrepreneurs, bankers and representatives of pharmaceutical industry attended the moot.

Usman Khalid of Ferozons Laboratories said the country provided a discouraging environment for pharmaceutical companies. He pointed out there was a pricing policy in place but it was never followed and as a result, medicine companies faced massive problems.

“The survival of nations depends on their economic security. For Pakistan, it is now more crucial to expand its manufacturing and move from primary commodities to new and value-added markets particularly knowledge-based sectors like biotechnology, which is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world,” Usman said.

An entrepreneur, Fahad Tanweer, briefed the audience about advancements in medicines in the last 150 years, saying they had tremendously impacted the world.

“Antibiotics were discovered in 1940s and then vaccinations, angiography and CT scan were introduced. They are still prevalent today,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th, 2016.