By Alicia Buller
As one of the world’s most populous countries, Pakistan has tackled immense healthcare capacity challenges during the pandemic. Amid three waves of Covid-19, hospitals and doctors increasingly turned to digital health solutions to help relieve systemic pressures, particularly in terms of tracking infection and treating patients remotely. As such, the global growing trend towards digital health – a term that covers mobile health, e-health records, lifestyle management, telemedicine, and advanced computing – was accelerated in Pakistan during the crisis. These types of technologies are now increasingly being employed to relieve hospital capacity, increase healthcare quality and help reach remote patients, especially amid the national epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes and heart disease.
Historically widespread communicable diseases – such as tuberculosis – are also still prevalent in Pakistan, said Dr. Ahmad Mansoor, chief medical officer (CMO) at UK-headquartered BIMA – a provider of mobile-delivered insurance and health services in Pakistan and globally.
“Once upon a time, it was just communicable diseases that were the health threat to emerging markets. But now, as lifestyles become more sedentary and unhealthy, NCDs are also growing,” said Mansoor. “
But Pakistan has long faced endemic healthcare challenges before the blight of the pandemic. In terms of total health expenditure as a percentage in 2018–2019, healthcare spending was just 1.1 per cent of the country’s GDP. A combination of financial, societal and geographical barriers continues to challenge the national healthcare system – particularly for the vast swathes of citizens who live in remote areas.
Digital health has a vital role to play in helping to address the key issues of the health sector, such as inadequate infrastructure, healthcare quality, the high cost of health services and low government spending in the sector. Technologies such as AI, big data, analytics and wearables can also help reduce inefficiencies in healthcare delivery by providing remote monitoring, prediction and rapid diagnosis in higher-end hospitals. Telemedicine has become increasingly popular since the pandemic because it enhances the reach of healthcare coverage. “Digital health technologies are essential for meeting the growing needs of the country,” said Mansoor, adding that Pakistan currently has an estimated doctor-patient ratio of 1–1,000 and even less nurses than doctors.
The BIMA CMO said low-quality healthcare practitioners and counterfeit medicines pose a national challenge, as well as limited access to certified medical professionals in rural areas. “We are enabling better access to quality healthcare. We help patients to see qualified doctors and nurses. BIMA spends time ensuring its staff are certified and practising, with the relevant up-to-date training,” he said, adding that telemedicine also addresses the challenges of rural patient isolation by providing high-quality virtual consultations.
Pakistani telecommunications company, Jazz, recently launched the 24-hour doctor and hospital insurance package ‘BIMA Sehat’ for its prepaid subscribers. The service, in partnership with BIMA and Alfalah Insurance, offers customers access to a range of insurance and health benefits starting from just PKR 1.28 per day.
Millions of patients have benefitted from the BIMA Sehat programme to date. For customers such as Lahore-based sweeper Raja Abdul Rehman, the experience has been “life changing”. The father-of-two says he was provided with essential low-cost 24-hour video access to qualified doctors during a serious spell of illness. “A while ago, I got very ill. Thanks to the telemedicine insurance programme, I was given medical tests and diagnosed during a very difficult time.”
British Pakistan health partnership:British digital health firms like BIMA are really starting to cement their presence in Pakistan, according to Simon Penney, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“The UK is home to many pioneering healthcare companies across a range of solutions, such as real-time data reporting, e-record management, self-care and remote monitoring,” Penney said.
Many British healthcare technology firms have first trialled their services in the National Health Service (NHS) – the world’s largest single-payer universal healthcare system. This unique heritage appeals to Pakistani healthcare clients, said the trade commissioner.
“The coronavirus pandemic has stretched hospitals around the world to their limits, raising important questions about how best to relieve pressure and free up capacity,” said Penney. “Digital health uses advances in computing power and data techniques to make healthcare better, safer, faster, and reach further. By working closely with other countries, we can tackle our greatest challenges and succeed,” he added.
According to Britain’s Penney, UK companies are keen to work with healthcare operators in Pakistan to roll out digital initiatives in the coming years.
“Digital health has been at the heart of the public health response to Covid-19 worldwide but these technologies are not just critical in the response to global pandemics,” Penney said. “Without them, we simply don’t have the global workforce to cope with the increasing demand for healthcare, especially with ageing populations and the growth of non-communicable diseases. Britain is at the forefront of health innovation and is partnering with healthcare institutions around the world to help make wellness accessible to all.”