Pakistan’s Federal Health Ministry has decided to move toward digital monitoring of government hospitals following the deadly fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), with authorities considering artificial intelligence to monitor hospital performance, track public complaints and identify weaknesses in administrative and operational systems. The initiative follows renewed scrutiny of hospital safety, emergency preparedness and management oversight after the PIMS tragedy, with officials now looking at digital tools to provide greater visibility into hospital operations and help authorities identify shortcomings more systematically.
Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal held a meeting with Pakistan Digital Authority Chairman Dr Sohail Munir to discuss the use of technology in managing government hospitals and improving administrative oversight. During the meeting, discussions focused on digitising hospital operations and shifting various administrative functions onto digital platforms. The Health Ministry has decided to seek assistance from the Pakistan Digital Authority in developing the proposed system, which is expected to provide a digital framework for monitoring hospital performance, public complaints and other key administrative matters. Through centralized digital monitoring, authorities would be able to track issues, follow their resolution and identify recurring weaknesses across government hospitals.
One of the key proposals under consideration is an artificial intelligence-based complaint management system that could allow citizens to report problems at government hospitals through calls. According to Health Ministry officials, AI agents could receive and process complaints, register them digitally, track their progress and monitor whether the reported issues have been addressed. The system could provide health authorities with centralized information about recurring complaints and potentially highlight hospitals, departments or services that require intervention. This would shift complaint handling from a largely manual process toward a technology-supported mechanism in which complaints can be recorded and followed through their resolution.
The proposed digital monitoring initiative comes as authorities seek to improve oversight of federal hospitals and address weaknesses highlighted by the PIMS fire. Beyond simply introducing AI tools, the effectiveness of the system would depend on how accurately complaints are recorded, how accessible the mechanism remains for citizens and how quickly hospital authorities respond to issues identified through digital monitoring. Human oversight will also remain important in ensuring that complaints are assessed appropriately and that technology supports rather than replaces administrative decision-making. If implemented effectively, the initiative could give federal health authorities a more centralized view of hospital performance and operational problems while creating a structured mechanism for tracking public complaints and their resolution.
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