LAHORE: Punjab Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman has said that family physicians have an important role in primary healthcare. By strengthening the family medicine department, diseases would be controlled and patients’ burden on hospitals would be reduced as well.

He expressed these views during a meeting with a delegation of Pakistan Academy of Family Physicians (PAFP), led by President Tariq Mehmood Mian, on Wednesday. The delegation comprised Dr Saeed Ahmed, Dr M. Tahir Chaudhry, Dr Naheed Nadeem, Dr Sajjad Ahmed Malik, Dr M. Asim Shafiq, Dr Abdul Rehman and Dr Captain Ashfaq Qureshi.

He appreciated the role of Pakistan Academy of Family Physicians in strengthening the department of family medicine and also in training doctors to upgrade their professional skills and clinical knowledge. “Special steps are being taken to promote the department family medicine in medical universities,” he added.

He further said that the department of family medicine has been set up and made functional in Fatima Jinnah University under the leadership of Vice Chancellor Khalid Masood Gondal and expressed hope that it would yield encouraging results.

He averred that the alarming increase in the rate of diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure in Pakistan is a matter of grave concern. “Strengthening the family medicine and primary health sector would improve the health and well-being of patients by promoting preventive measures at the gross root level. Family physicians have rendered valuable services during earthquakes and floods, including Covid epidemic and dengue,” he added.

On this occasion, Pakistan Academy of Family Physicians President Tariq Mehmood Mian said the aim of the Association is to raise the quality of primary healthcare and equip family physicians with the best skills in medical practice.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023