Punjab’s public healthcare system is entering a new digital phase as Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz announced the transition of hospitals across the province to a fully paperless regime. The move is part of wide-ranging digital health reforms aimed at improving transparency, efficiency, and patient care.
Addressing a conference of hospital Chief Executive Officers and Medical Superintendents in Lahore, the chief minister administered an integrity and zero-corruption pledge to senior officials. She stressed that technology-driven governance would be central to eliminating inefficiencies and ensuring better healthcare delivery.
According to the announcement, district and tehsil headquarters hospitals have already shifted to paperless operations. Health facilitation services are also being fully digitized, reducing manual paperwork and streamlining patient records, admissions, and treatment tracking.
To enhance accountability, the provincial government has introduced Key Performance Indicators for hospital leadership. A new Performance Evaluation Report system has also been implemented to monitor doctors’ performance and service standards. Monitoring and Evaluation Assistants will be appointed, while dedicated administrators and procurement officers will oversee hospital management and supply chains.
Emergency wards have been linked to Safe City surveillance cameras to strengthen security and oversight. Strict restrictions have been placed on the use of mobile phones by doctors during duty hours to ensure uninterrupted patient care.
Maryam Nawaz revealed that Punjab’s health budget has increased significantly from Rs. 399 billion to Rs. 630 billion. More than 1,500 doctors have been inducted into public hospitals, and Rs. 22 billion in outstanding dues have been cleared to ensure a steady supply of essential medicines.
Hospital administrations have been directed to maintain cleanliness, ensure fully functional medical equipment, and manage efficient patient flow. The introduction of color-coded triage bays is expected to improve emergency response times and prioritize critical cases.
The chief minister also announced a ban on pharmaceutical representatives inside hospitals and the deployment of vigilance teams to monitor healthcare facilities across the province. She reiterated that no resident of Punjab should be forced to travel to another city for treatment, emphasizing that public hospitals primarily serve underprivileged communities.
In a related development, Maryam Nawaz praised the success of the Chief Minister Children Heart Surgery Programme, under which more than 10,000 children have received free cardiac surgeries. Beneficiaries have come not only from Punjab but also from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Balochistan, and Sindh.
She also inaugurated a new intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital Lahore and met young patients and their families. Officials confirmed that over 10,300 surgeries have been completed so far, with additional cardiac specialists recruited to meet rising demand.
These digital reforms signal a transformative shift in Punjab’s healthcare governance, positioning technology and accountability at the heart of patient-centered service delivery.
