Checks on medical scheme misuse urged

Interventional cardiology forums stress continuation of facility

LAHORE:

The Pakistan Society of Interventional Cardiology (PSIC) and National Interventional Cardiology Board (NICB) recommended in a joint meeting on Sunday that the Sehat Sahulat Programme must continue uninterrupted but there should be robust mechanism to avoid misuse of the facility.

They recommended that only accredited operators should do interventional cardiology procedures. If any unaccredited operator is found handling such cases, it should be dealt with through strict disciplinary action by the healthcare commission.

The participants noted with serious concern that one-third of the total cath lab centres in the province were doing cardiac procedures of Sehat Sahulat Card beneficiaries without accreditation from the Punjab Healthcare Commission and that might be the reason of recent complaints.

Caretaker Provincial Minister Professor Javaid Akram assured the participants of the meeting that such labs would be immediately closed and a show-cause notice issued as to why approval had been given to them for carrying out cardiac procedures without prior licensing.

The PSIC and NICB proposed to fix charges for carrying out interventional cardiology procedures irrespective of the number of stents used. They also recommended that the operator share for carrying out the procedures should be the same in the public and private sector hospitals.

With the healthcare commission as the prime regulator, the organisations will form three committees for north, central and South Punjab to assist it in performing the regulatory functions.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10^th, 2023.