Health Regulations: ‘Commission checks hospitals, council checks doctors’

Health dept says PHC's jurisdiction distinct, its regulatory functions did not overlap with other regulatory bodies.


Our Correspondent August 12, 2012

LAHORE:


The regulatory functions of the Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) are restricted to healthcare establishments and do not clash with the regulatory functions of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), which deals with medical education, the Health Department has said.


Earlier in the week, PMDC officials had voiced concern that the newly established PHC was a parallel body and was interfering in its domain.

In a press release issued on Saturday, a Health Department spokesman said that the commission had the power to regulate all healthcare establishments “including hospitals, diagnostic clinics, Tibbi clinics, acupuncture clinics, physiotherapy clinics or any other healthcare service in the private and public sectors”.

The spokesman said that the PHC was an independent regulatory body set up under the Punjab Healthcare Commission Act of 2010. He said that the PMDC Act of 1962 and Pakistan Nursing Council Act 1973 regulated medical, dental and nursing education. The PMDC aimed to ensure teaching hospitals fulfilled requirements for the teaching and training of doctors.

He said the main objective of the PHC was to “licence all healthcare establishments and introduce a regimen of clinical governance through implementation of minimum service delivery standards for primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare establishments”.

He said that the commission’s jurisdiction was distinct and its regulatory functions did not overlap with any other regulatory bodies.

“The PHC is a complementary and not a parallel structure regulating healthcare service delivery for better patient outcomes,” the spokesman said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 12th, 2012.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ