Federal Health Regulatory Authority Bill set to be placed before Cabinet for approval

Islamabad
With inputs from a variety of stakeholders incorporated, the draft Federal Health Regulatory Authority Bill has been finalised by the Ministry of National Health Services, and will soon be placed before the cabinet for approval, sources told this scribe here on Tuesday.
The purpose of this bill, a copy of which is available with ‘The News,’ is to provide a regulatory framework under which the health sector can guarantee the provision of quality healthcare services to the residents of Islamabad Capital Territory, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and other federal territories.
Pakistan has a large unregulated private health sector, with public health institutions also providing poor quality of services. The Federal Healthcare Regulation Act 2015, under which the Federal Health Regulatory Authority (FHRA) will be established, will bring under its fold, all kinds of healthcare establishments including institutions owned, managed or administered by for-profit and non-profit organizations, charities, trusts, semi-government organizations, autonomous healthcare institutions, as well as establishments functioning under public-private partnerships, local governments, and corporate sector, as well as those run by individuals or groups. Establishments falling under the allopathic, complementary, alternative and traditional medical treatment systems (Unani, Tibb, Ayurvedic, Homoeopathic, acupuncture, etc.) will also come under its ambit.
Once enforced, no healthcare establishment will be able to render any healthcare services unless it is registered with the Registration Board of the FHRA. Similarly, no healthcare professional will be able to render services in a healthcare establishment unless he/she has a prior registration under the Medical and Dental Council Ordinance, 1962, Pakistan Nursing Council Act, 1973 or the Unani, Ayurvedic and Homoeopathic Practitioners Act 1965.
Moreover, healthcare establishments, healthcare professionals, or clinical laboratories that have been registered by the Registration Board to be established under the Act will not be allowed to render healthcare services of the category for which they are not registered.
The measure is expected to pave the way for improved quality of health services and promotion of patient safety through implementation of quality standards, given that there are currently no standards for quality assurance in the health sector. Technical committees will be constituted to lay down different standards for the purpose of measuring the quality of healthcare services for the registration of healthcare establishments.
Under the Act, anyone who establishes a hospital, clinic, laboratory or maternity home without a license shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or with penalty which may extend to one million rupees or with both. It will also provide a mechanism for banning quackery in all its forms and manifestations.
The FHRA will perform several key functions. It will set standards for registration and licensing of healthcare establishments, followed by registration of all healthcare establishments and issuance of licenses, defining the scope and extent of services to be provided by these institutions. The Authority will enforce minimum standards of patient and health staff safety in the public and private sectors.
The FHRA will collect and publish notified practices developed by national or international organizations to act as guiding documents for service provision in healthcare establishments. It will also have the power to suspend, cancel or revoke any registration wrongly granted by the Registration Board. To ensure compliance and implementation of the Act, it will hold periodical inspections and surprise visits. It will also provide guidelines to the Registration Board for grant, renewal, suspension, or cancellation of registrations of healthcare establishments.
The FHRA will be led by a chief executive officer, who will be appointed through open advertisement. The aspirant will be required to have a minimum of 15 years of experience in hospital or public administration, public health, medicine, accounting, finance, law, regulation, or other related field.