Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting to review progress on providing quality health services to the citizens through Health Cards.

The meeting was given a detailed briefing on the provision of health cards in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the number of beneficiaries and the expenditure incurred on this program so far and the resulting relief to the people.

The meeting was informed that through the Health Facility Card Program in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, millions of people have benefited. 210,200 patients were admitted in various public and private hospitals using health cards, and an amount of Rs. 5.3 billion has been spent so far on treatment.

The meeting was informed that the health card is being used to ensure the provision of quality services to people with 26 different diseases. These also include diseases of the heart and others, the treatment of which is more expensive and beyond the financial resources of poor families.

The Prime Minister directed the Federal and Provincial Governments and State Life Insurance Company to set up special units for monitoring the implementation of the Health Card Program and to resolve issues immediately.

The meeting was informed that health card facility has been provided to 8.5 million families in Punjab province so far.

Expressing satisfaction over the relief available to the people through the Health Facility Card, the Prime Minister said that the present program of providing quality health services is the largest and historic program in the history of the country. He said that for the first time, the present government has launched a comprehensive program realizing the problems faced by the poor for health services. Due to this initiative, not only public but also private hospitals are providing quality healthcare to the poor and deserving.

The Prime Minister said that a new system is being created in the health sector after the introduction of the Health Card facility. The current program will promote private sector hospitals and enable them to provide their services in rural and remote areas.

In order to increase the benefit of Health Cards, the Prime Minister directed the concerned authorities to promote the program with the help of the Ministry of Information so that citizens acquire more awareness about the program and its benefits.

The meeting was attended by Special Assistant for Health Dr. Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant Dr. Shahbaz Gill, Punjab Health Minister Dr. Yasmeen Rashid, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Federal and Provincial Secretaries of Health Department and other senior officials.

Source: Pro Pakistani