Private Hospital Sector - An Important Tier of Healthcare Delivery System in Pakistan

Healthcare plays an important role in any country's economy as healthy population is not only valued in its own right, but it also uplifts the human capital of a country and positively contributes to the economic and social development. The PTI government and Prime Minister Imran Khan has already identified and included health sector in priority list of their agenda.
Pakistan, being world's 5th largest nation by population, faces various constraints and limitations to ensure equitable & convenient access of specialized quality healthcare services to the masses. Greater quality and access call for further thinking on the role of private sector into health systems and a partnership between public and private sectors to address the challenges of affordability, quality, and availability of healthcare.
With financial sustainability, care delivery, patient centricity, digital transformation, and regulatory compliance at the top of the agenda, all healthcare stakeholders need to collaborate within the healthcare ecosystem and those in converging industries to shape the future of healthcare and establish a sustainable & smart health community.
Growth Potential of Private Hospital Sector
In Pakistan under article 18th amendment, the healthcare services are the obligations of provincial governments except for the federal area. The huge gap left by the public sector is being filled by private sector and its rapid growth is not only visible but also commendable.
Few of the private entities have come up as models in this national cause and there is a need to study them and improve the overall system of healthcare to secure a bright future for coming generations.
Today Pakistan's mushrooming private healthcare entities need to be brought under healthcare accreditation body to regulate the performance of quality care and safe treatment outcomes. Healthcare in Pakistan is mainly administered in the private sector which accounts for almost 80% of all outpatient visits.
The ongoing growth of corporate investment in the private health sector will surely have a considerable impact on Pakistan's healthcare delivery system as growth of private hospitals further improves quality and patient focused healthcare.