Private medical services bill on cards
Nasim tells JS adding that there is dearth of pharmacists
Health Minister Mohammad Nasim yesterday told parliament that the Private Medical Service Bill - 2016 was on the cards for updating the private health service fees and making them more updated ones.
"It will be possible to place it as a bill at a cabinet meeting shortly after finalising the draft," he said while replying to lawmakers' queries.
The minister said the private health services were now being regulated pursuant to "the Medical Practice and Private Clinics and Laboratories (Regulation) Ordinance - 1982," adding that if the bill was passed, it would be possible to make the health service fees updated.
In response to another query, Nasim said the country faced a crisis of pharmacists.
"The number of pharmacists under A, B and C grades is inadequate. There are 11,538 registered pharmacists under A grade, 3,008 under B grade and 77,826 under C grade," he mentioned.
The country will, however, get a sufficient number of A-graded pharmacists in the days ahead, since 12 public and 22 private universities have already launched pharmacy as an academic discipline.