The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication met recently under the chairmanship of PTI MNA Ali Khan Jadoon.
Senior officials of the National Information and Technology Board (NITB) also attended the meeting and presented a comprehensive briefing to the committee regarding a project to digitize patients’ medical history. The standing committee questioned the jurisdiction of the Health Ministry on a project which it believes falls under the mandate of the IT Ministry.
According to details, NITB officials said that they are working on the “One Patient One ID” project on the recommendation of the Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination.
They had started the work on the infrastructure of the project after receiving formal approval from the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives.
Its software has been successfully developed and its testing is in the final stages. The project is estimated to incur a total cost of Rs. 90 million.
Once completed, One Patient One ID will free patients from registering again and again in hospitals before every checkup, saving crucial time wasted in this process.
All hospitals will be interconnected under the project and their management will easily be able to view the details including the medical history of patients within seconds by using a unique ID.
Irrespective of the benefits of the project, members of the Standing Committee said that NITB should have sought permission from the Ministry of IT before starting the project.
In response, disgruntled NITB officials said that they will halt work on the launch of the project and will consult Planning Ministry on whether to go ahead with the project or scrap it completely.
