The Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) has outlined requirements for the Health Management Information System (HMIS).
The authority will introduce it in private category-I hospitals during the first phase. It aimed at enhancing health service delivery and decision-making across various levels.
In the same vein, the PHC has urged the Punjab government to take immediate steps towards the introduction of a Universal Patient Medical Record Number (UPMRN) and the establishment of the HMIS across all healthcare establishments in the province.
In a letter addressed to the Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department by Chairperson Board of Commissioners PHC Major Azam Suleman Khan (Retd.), the Commission highlighted that the lack of a centralised and unified system for patient records remains a significant obstacle to improving healthcare quality, ensuring patient safety, and enabling data-driven policy reforms. The PHC emphasised that fragmented and incompatible systems currently used by public and private hospitals result in duplication, inefficiencies, and hinder the continuity of patient care.
PHC Proposal:
The Commission proposed that a universal patient identifier be issued to every individual, enabling their medical history to be securely accessed across hospitals, clinics, laboratories and diagnostic centres. This would facilitate better clinical decision-making, reduce medical errors and support integrated health service delivery.
The PHC also underlined the importance of an integrated HMIS that is interoperable, compliant with the global best practices and adaptable to the provincial context. Such a system would allow real-time reporting of health data, monitoring of disease patterns and evidence-based resource allocation, thus strengthening both preventive and curative care mechanisms.
The Chairperson PHC stated that the Commission remains committed to working with the provincial health departments, allied institutions and healthcare providers to design and implement a robust, scalable and secure HMIS framework.
The Commission called upon all stakeholders, including government departments, healthcare institutions and technology partners, to collaborate in building a future-ready healthcare information ecosystem, which ensures continuity of care and strengthens regulatory oversight, ultimately to the benefit of every citizen of Punjab.
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