THE country’s experience of having the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) in place has been a rather good one, and there is enough reason for Pakistan to consider extending this successful model to other organisations for improving governance.

An immediate take-away from the NCOC can be the creation of a nationwide electronic health record system. Practised in many countries, such a system integrates patients’ health records and drug information to make a patient’s entire medical history accessible to authorised physicians and hospitals.

This includes access to health information, like medication lists, immunisation records, allergy lists, laboratory test results, X-rays and the patient’s detailed medical history.

There are very few hospitals in Pakistan that maintain comprehensive patient records on a long-term basis. Patients often personally carry their weather-beaten partial records from doctor to doctor, who happily prescribe numerous medicines and laboratory tests with little knowledge of prior medication, immunisation records, allergy lists, laboratory test results or patient’s history.

Likewise, the drug information system can electronically document all the medications prescribed and dispensed. This tool enables authorised healthcare providers to access, manage, share and safeguard patients’ medication histories.

This will also make it practical for the regulating bodies to monitor the dispensation of needless, incorrect or less-recommended medications. These measures can contribute to improved prescriptions by physicians and better healthcare for patients. Technology and competent professionals are our untapped resources that can turn Pakistan around.

Naeem Sadiq
Karachi

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2021