ISLAMABAD: In a major development, the district health office on Monday launched an automated system to issue drug sale licences to 1,600 pharmacies, medical stores and pharma distributors in Islamabad.

Earlier, around 1,600 retail setups were issued licences manually by the health department.

The process was taking around 60 days for issuance of a licence. Now with the automation of the system, it will take 10 days for getting the licence online. The entire process is paper free and the applicant can apply from their mobile phone or a computer and after fulfillment of the requirements will get the print of the licence having all security measures.

District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Zaeem Zia while briefing participants of an event said the step had been initiated in compliance with the directions of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit (PMDU) and in line with the current government’s agenda of good governance and transparency in service delivery.

MoU signed for third-party validation of Sehat Sahulat Programme

The event was attended by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, Chief Executive Officer Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) Asim Rauf, officers of the health department, office-bearers of Pakistan Chemist and Druggist Association, Pakistan Pharmacist Association, Community Pharmacist Forum and the owners of pharmacies and distribution setups.

Dr Sultan on the occasion lauded the efforts of the team and declared it as a milestone and a step towards achievement of the goal of ensuring transparency and expeditious processing of cases in crucial service delivery areas.

Sehat Sahulat Programme

After completion of seven years of the Federal Sehat Sahulat Programme (SSP), a memorandum of validation of its phase 1 was signed on Monday.

The MoU was signed between the Health Services Academy (HSA) and the Sehat Sahulat Programme, Ministry of National Health Services.

Vice Chancellor HSA Dr Shehzad Ali Khan and CEO SSP Mohammad Arshad signed the contract.

SSP was launched by then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on January 1, 2016. As third-party validation, which is done after five years, had to be carried out by the end of 2020 it was delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Later, tenders were floated and it was won by the HSA.

Dr Faisal, on the occasion, remarked: “Sehat Sahulat Programme is a flagship initiative of the current government as per the vision and direction of Prime Minister Imran Khan. It will create a robust improvement in treatment services and ensure access to quality health care services for everyone.”

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Arshad said the Sehat card covers an extensive list of healthcare services (up to Rs1 million per family). The services include open-heart surgeries, insertion of stents, management of cancer, neurosurgical procedures, burn management, accident management, dialysis, intensive care management, deliveries, ‘C’ section, and other medical and surgical procedures.

Dr Shehzad Ali Khan, while talking to Dawn, said HSA had won the tender through open bidding.

“We will evaluate the services of the hospitals which provided treatment to people. We will also get the feedback from users and will check the indicators of programmes prepared by SSP,” he said.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2022