| |
|
|
 |
|
|
| |
Healthcare System information/Insurance news |
|
|
|
|
| |
Pakistan, which used to be a British colony, has inherited a highly centralised healthcare system from the former British colonial power. The country achieved its independence in 1947. Since that time the Pakistani Government has been responsible for providing free national healthcare services to all citizens in almost all cities and towns.
Under the Pakistani constitution, healthcare is predominantly the responsibility of the provincial governments, except in the federally administered territories. The Federal Government is, however, responsible for planning and formulating national health policies, although the responsibility for implementation rests largely with the provincial governments. The Federal Ministry of health is responsible for the implementation of some vertical prevention programmes for risks such as AIDS and malaria, and extended programmes for immunization. The key elements of the vision of the Government on healthcare include i) prevention of disease, ii) access to a doctor for every citizen, iii) provision of affordable medicines and top standard medical education.
The healthcare system in Pakistan includes both public and private services. The public sector, which is regulated and recognised is comprised of health facilities from Basic Health Units (BHU’s), Rural Health Centres (RHC’s) and tertiary care facilities. In Pakistan, Primary Healthcare (PHC) units include both BHUs and RHCs, and less than 30% of the population uses the facilities of the PHC. Reasons that the public sector is severely under-utilised is mainly due to inherent weaknesses including insufficient focus on prevention and promotion of health, excessive centralization of management, political interference, lack of openness, weak human resource development, lack of integration, and lack of a public health policy.
The private sector serves nearly 70% of the population, and is primarily a fee-for-service system including services from trained physicians to alternative therapies spiritual healers. This sector does not work within regulatory framework and limited information is available e.g. information on human or financial resources.
The salary of a newly graduated doctor who joins the government service is paid US$120 per month, with an additional US$16.50 housing allowance. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are only 12 doctors to every 10,000 people in Pakistan and 10 hospital beds to every 10,000 people. Comparing to the United States, there are 22 doctors and more than 30 hospital beds per 10,000 people.
Corruption is a severe issue in the healthcare system in Pakistan. This has prevented the healthcare system from expanding in a meaningful way. Staff absenteeism and dual job holding is amongst the most serious issues at a health systems level in Pakistan; this undermines the service delivery and leads to closed/under utilised public health facilities, which in turn damage the equity and health objectives of the publicly financed healthcare. Obtaining medicine is also another major corupt area of the healthcare industry, without giving tips and gifts (bribes) to medcial staff, patients will receive little or no attention.
Although healthcare in Pakistan is slowly improving, it is still quite inadequate, inefficient and expensive. Whilst travelling or living in Pakistan, it is important to ensure that you and your family are fully protected by medical and health insurance.
Globalsurance is a one-stop insurance brokerage service provider for you when travelling to Pakistan. We offer a wide range of policies to meet your individual needs, including benefits such as dental, maternity, inpatient, outpatient, specialist consultations and many others. Contact our professional advisers today to enjoy full insurance protection such as an Expat Health Insurance Plan for yourself and your family.
| |
