Punjab is transitioning its public healthcare system to a fully digital and paperless model as part of wide ranging digital health reforms announced by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, with the objective of improving patient care, strengthening institutional accountability, and modernizing hospital operations across the province. The announcement was made during a conference held in Lahore with hospital Chief Executive Officers and Medical Superintendents, where the chief minister administered an integrity and zero corruption pledge to senior officials and underscored the importance of technology driven governance in transforming public service delivery. District and tehsil headquarters hospitals have already transitioned to paperless operations, while health facilitation services are being fully digitalized to create a more efficient, transparent, and traceable healthcare ecosystem that minimizes manual paperwork and reduces administrative bottlenecks.
As part of the reform framework, the provincial government has introduced Key Performance Indicators for hospital leadership and launched a structured Performance Evaluation Report system to monitor doctors’ work and professional conduct. Monitoring and Evaluation Assistants, administrators, and procurement officers are being deployed to enhance oversight and streamline operational processes within hospitals, ensuring better coordination across departments. Emergency wards have been integrated with Safe City surveillance cameras to improve security and monitoring, while mobile phone usage by doctors during duty hours has been restricted to ensure focused patient care. These measures are designed to reinforce discipline, increase transparency, and ensure that service standards are consistently maintained across public healthcare facilities.
The provincial health budget has seen a substantial increase from Rs. 399 billion to Rs. 630 billion, reflecting a stronger financial commitment to healthcare delivery and system modernization. More than 1,500 new doctors have been inducted into public hospitals to address staffing shortages, and Rs. 22 billion in outstanding dues have been cleared to ensure uninterrupted medicine supply chains. The chief minister directed hospital administrations to maintain adequate stocks of essential medicines, ensure that medical equipment remains functional, uphold cleanliness standards, and manage patient flow efficiently through color coded triage bays. Pharmaceutical representatives have been barred from entering hospitals to maintain professional integrity, and dedicated vigilance teams will monitor healthcare facilities across Punjab to ensure compliance with new regulations. Maryam Nawaz emphasized that no resident should be compelled to travel to another city for treatment, reiterating that public hospitals primarily serve low income and vulnerable populations who rely on accessible and affordable care.
In addition to structural reforms, Maryam Nawaz highlighted the successful completion of free heart surgeries for more than 10,000 children under the Chief Minister Children Heart Surgery Programme, which has benefited patients not only from Punjab but also from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Balochistan, Sindh, and federal areas. She inaugurated a new intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital Lahore, met with patients and their families, and oversaw an increase in the number of cardiac surgeons and physicians to meet rising demand. The broader reform agenda reflects Punjab’s commitment to combining digital transformation, enhanced governance mechanisms, and expanded healthcare capacity to build a more responsive and accountable public health system aligned with modern administrative standards.
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