Pakistan Digital Authority and the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination have continued work on the Digital Sectoral Plan for Healthcare with a thematic workshop focused on healthcare facilities, health financing and protection in Peshawar. Hosted by the Directorate General Health Services, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the session brought together representatives from federal and provincial governments, healthcare facilities, health financing and social protection programmes, development partners and private insurance companies. The workshop was aimed at developing a shared vision for using digital systems across healthcare delivery and financing while taking provincial requirements and existing infrastructure into account.
Participants discussed the need to build on Pakistan’s existing investments in hospital information systems by improving interoperability and ensuring that digital platforms are effectively used across healthcare institutions. Taimoor Shah, Chief Operating Officer of Shifa International Hospitals and thematic champion for the session, highlighted the importance of moving toward scalable technologies that can connect different systems and improve overall health system performance. Interoperable digital infrastructure could allow healthcare institutions to exchange relevant information more efficiently, reducing fragmentation between systems and supporting continuity of care as patients interact with different healthcare providers.
The workshop also examined how digital technologies could improve health financing and protection by enabling better access to information across social protection programmes and private health insurance schemes. Participants discussed the potential development of a digital citizen health profile that could allow relevant healthcare information to remain accessible across different points of care. Such a system could support continuity of treatment while also providing policymakers and healthcare administrators with better data for evidence-based decision-making. Integrating healthcare, financing and social protection data could also help improve coordination between institutions involved in delivering and funding healthcare services.
The Peshawar session forms part of a wider consultative process being conducted for the Digital Sectoral Plan for Healthcare. The nationwide workshops are intended to incorporate the experiences of institutions responsible for delivering, financing and regulating healthcare into the plan before its implementation. Further thematic sessions are expected to take place across other healthcare domains, with the broader objective of developing a more integrated digital health framework that reflects the requirements of both federal and provincial stakeholders.
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