Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on Thursday stressed the need for Pakistan to adopt telemedicine as part of its healthcare system.
Speaking to the media after his visit to PIMS Hospital in Islamabad, Kamal stated that treating the entire population through traditional healthcare systems is not feasible.
He pointed out that the lack of basic health units forces people to rely on major hospitals. Kamal highlighted that telemedicine, a global practice, could help provide medical services, including consultations and medicines, directly to people’s doorsteps.
“We need to provide medicines and doctors at people’s doorsteps. We can’t treat everyone through hospitals alone. Considering the modern world, we should move toward telemedicine,” he said.
He shared that seven operation theatres have been constructed at a cost of Rs 2.1 billion, which will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. While acknowledging that things are not ideal, he said there is room for improvement.
Mustafa Kamal also clarified that there are currently no plans to hand over PIMS to a public-private partnership. He added that future work on the health card scheme is underway.
“The healthcare sector is connected to the welfare of humanity. When people are in pain, they go to hospitals. The poor turn to public hospitals, while the wealthy can afford private care,” he said.
During the visit, patients raised numerous complaints in front of the health minister.
One patient claimed there was a shortage of medicines and hospital beds. Another shared that last month, X-ray films had run out and patients were forced to visit private laboratories.
A man said his brother was in a life-threatening condition, but no ICU bed was available. In response, PIMS Executive Director Dr. Rana Imran Sikandar stated that ICU beds could not be allocated to cancer patients.
Minister Mustafa Kamal directed hospital authorities to provide all possible facilities to patients.
