Digitising health systems ‘need of the hour’

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Dr Faisal Sultan on Friday said that digitising health systems can contribute as a key component in achieving universal health coverage (UHC) in the country.

Addressing the dissemination meeting of the National Digital Health Framework of Pakistan, Sultan said digitising health systems play a pivotal role in improving the reach, impact, and efficiency of modern health care and in delivering patient-centered services.

He said that ensuring access to quality health services is one of the main functions of a health system and digital health is increasingly self-evident as a means of making the country's health systems even more patient-centered.

He added that the twin pressures of Pakistan's growing population and limited infrastructure require that “we should embrace and scale-up innovative approaches to healthcare delivery, including digital health, for cost-effective healthcare solutions”.

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Representatives of WHO, UNDP, USAID, UNICEF, and other health development partners enlightened the importance of digitalisation in the health sector and hoped that the digital health framework would become an invaluable tool to assist with joint planning and support for strengthening Pakistan's health system.

The outcome of the dissemination meeting is to strengthen coordination with provinces and federating areas for the implementation of the framework.

The workshop was attended by representatives from the federal and provincial health departments (focal points, IT specialists), federal and provincial line departments (IT, P&D, finance, food and agriculture, education, interior, fisheries and livestock), UN agencies, health development partners, academicians, researchers and other stakeholders.