By Amjad Mehmood
Islamabad— President Islamic Republic of Pakistan, conferred upon the civil awards on “Pakistan Day” to the selected individuals for their outstanding services. Amongst the awardees, Dr. Rizwan Uppal is a renowned name in the medical fraternity in Pakistan. He is conferred upon ‘Tamgha-i-Imtiaz’ in recognition of his over 25-year-long service in the medical field.
Dr. Rizwan Uppal has a unique personality and practices allopathic and homeopathic simultaneously to cure patients. He believes in correct diagnostics to treat diseases at the earliest possible time and also emphasizes research in healthcare, academic contribution, and social responsibility.
Alhamdulillah, honored to receive Tamgha-e-Imtiaz in science & healthcare. Grateful for the opportunity to serve and make a difference in the lives of othershttps://t.co/5GttqWNk7A pic.twitter.com/y7dFprCW05
— Dr. Rizwan Uppal (@UppalRizwan) March 24, 2023
He has an excellent academic background and secured the third position in intermediate (Pre-medical) from the Federal Board and was awarded the President of Pakistan, Gold Medal for securing the first position in the college. He got admission to Army Medical College (AMC) Rawalpindi and graduated as an MBBS doctor by earning many Gold, and silver medals for outstanding results in various subjects along with many certificates of Honour. He did post-graduation in medicine (FCPS) and Pulmonology (MCPS). He also attained the foreign UK (MRCGP) and US qualifications (USMLE). He served the Pakistan Army medical branch for fifteen years in various institutes and hospitals and then opted to start his journey of private practice.
During his practice, he realized that no one field can cure every illness and then he started to work on alternative medicines by practicing homeopathy and became a Member Alliance of Registered Homeopaths MARH (UK).
Following his vision of correct diagnostics, he founded a state of Art Imaging and lab diagnostic center in Islamabad in 2005, named Islamabad Diagnostic Centre (IDC) and Dr. Rizwan is the founder Chairman of IDC. Being a leading chain of imaging and lab diagnostic centers, IDC is currently providing top-quality diagnostic services in 36 different cities in Pakistan. Over 2,500 employees comprised of qualified doctors and lab technicians are serving countrywide in IDC branches and earning respectfully. IDC follows global guidelines and international standards. The ISO-15189 accredited pathology services are offered through a team of highly qualified pathologists and technologists who manage multiple labs across Pakistan. IDC is also recognized for FCPS radiology, the apex qualification in radiology in Pakistan. The imaging modalities are also connected through PACS where doctors from abroad are also involved to make telediagnosis. IDC is a constitutional part of ISRA university helping graduate studies, contributing research in various diagnostic fields with COMSATS, AIOU, and Quaid-e-Azam Universities in Islamabad.
IDC has attained a leading position in radiology and is considered the only private diagnostic center recognized for FCPS in radiology training. By adding modern technologies such MRl, CT scans, Digital X rays, Mammography, CBCT, OPG and DEXA Scanners, etc, and reliable imaging services by using teleradiology and PACS, IDC is serving the country with the largest team of radiologists.
Historically, Dr. Rizwan started the diagnostic services to the public in 2003 at Wah Cantt as the first branch in the name of his late father Dr. Aslam Uppal who was very popular in the area for his quality treatment and benevolent attitude.
Considering his corporate social and national responsibility, Dr. Rizwan has established three state-of-the-art Labs in underprivileged District HQ Hospitals of Attock, Jehlum, and Chakwal, through a Public-Private-Partnership scheme and offers highly subsidized services to the Ministry of Health, Punjab which enabled Government to offer free of cost tests to the patients.
During the challenging time of the COVID-19 Pandemic, IDC has delivered COVID-19 diagnostics with exceptional turnaround times (TAT) at its NIH-approved testing facilities all over Pakistan and enhanced the diagnostic capacity of Pakistan. With government collaboration, IDC also helped NCOC to deploy smart lock-downs to contain the pandemic spread.
Dr. Riwan Uppal has two Patents on his credit, one related to measuring pressures in a failing Heart and the other to dealing with the dreadful effects of high-altitude hypothermia and hypoxia. He was awarded a COAS commendation certificate for these innovative tasks. Dr. Rizwan continuously conducts medical research and has so far contributed over 22 research publications in worldwide renowned medical journals. His recent study was about the COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V for developing antibodies in more than 80% of patients after the first dose. He also manages a welfare project under the title of ‘Poor Kidney Patient Association’ of Pakistan.