A FEW months ago, the Allied Health Professionals Council (AHPC) had issued a detailed ‘scope of practice’ for all the professionals registered with the council. The document had clearly said that a registered qualified medical laboratory scientist having a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields of allied health sciences can run a clinical laboratory independent of any pathologist’s oversight.

However, with no coordination between AHPC and the provincial healthcare commissions, allied health professionals are unable to run laboratory setups in accordance with the scope of practice.

Since the licensing body is the relevant provincial healthcare commission, the lack of any understanding among all the governing bodies is causing much chaos and confusion for the laboratory professionals in this regard.

For example, the Punjab Healthcare Commission still adheres to its policy of granting licence to only those laboratories which are being run with an oversight of a qualified pathologist. This has led to a rift between federal and provincial bodies.

Nothing substantial has been done in this regard since the release of the AHPC document. The council and healthcare commissions must sit across a table and resolve this matter on a priority basis.

Otherwise, this ambiguity will turn into a long-running legal battle as many allied health professionals are seeking legal aid in this regard. Already, the country’s legal system is fast crumbling under the weight of pending cases, and the addition of one more case can surely bring no relief to the parties involved. Only a well-negotiated decision based on mutual respect and understanding can resolve this confusion.

Saman Aftab
Lahore

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2026