LAHORE: While releasing the data of free treatment provided to the patients under the Sehat Sahulat Card, the Punjab government has also enlisted dengue patients for free treatment under the initiative.

The decision was taken at a meeting of a State Life Insurance Company delegation with Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid here on Thursday.

SLIC chairman Shoaib Javed, divisional head Muhammad Ashar and regional chief Lahore Dr Noor represented the company. Additional Secretary Finance Shahida Farrukh, Additional Secretary Technical Dr Hafiz Shahid Latif, Punjab Health Care Commission Chief Executive Officer Saqib Aziz, Punjab Health Initiative Management Company Chief Operating Officer Shamshad Ali Khan and others were present.

The delegation presented a cancer product to the health minister on behalf of the State Life Insurance Company.

Dr Rashid appreciated the cancer product offered by the company for the provision of the patients. She said the cancer patients in Punjab had been provided with cyberknife treatment through the sehat card.

There are several different ways to administer radiation therapy, which is a type of treatment that is used to kill cancer cells. One powerful method is known as cyberknife.

It was decided that the data of cancer patients undergoing treatment should be compiled through the health card.

According to the statistics shared in the meeting, more than 2.4 million patients in Punjab have received free treatment facility through the card at the 794 government and private health facilities of the province, which were on the panel of the programme.

For the free treatment at these hospitals, an amount of over Rs54 billion has been utilised so far.

It was announced that the dengue patients could now get free treatment from hospitals through the card.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2022