Friday, December 13, 2024
HomeJuly 15-31, 2024Lifesaving medical devices neglected in Federal Budget

Lifesaving medical devices neglected in Federal Budget

KARACHI: Medical Devices have an important role in diagnosis of diseases before proper treatment can be initiated. In the federal budget, these instruments and equipment which includes CT scan, MRI, laboratories (all Kits & Analyzers) operation theaters (OT Table & all surgical items) ICU (Ventilator & Monitors) Blood banks (Screening kits, Blood Grouping Reagents & Blood Bags) have been ignored.

For example, our most valuable Liver specialist and editor of the Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association (JPMA) in Karachi Dr. Sarwar Jahan Zubair Chief Editor of JPMA had died of Malaria on (March 17, 2004), because Malaria was not diagnosed by proper Medical Device. It was after her death that Assemblies passed the Bill to include Malaria Screening in Blood Bank together with Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, and Syphilis, which all are Medical Devices and therefore blood cannot be issued by a Blood Bank without using Medical Devices to screen these diseases.

In case an unconscious patient lands in an emergency department of a hospital, the first thing they do, open the blood vessel with a Medical Device and test the blood to see what disease they have and then give drug with canola/syringe which are Medical Device. So, without a Medical Device patient would die, even if you have a drug available which highlights the importance of medical devices in helping diagnosis. Similarly in poison control center, patient most often are brought unconscious who had tried to commit suicide. Those patients can only survive by opening the mouth and a Nasogastric tube (for gastric wash) is inserted, which again is a Medical Device and if this is not available most of the patient would die. In the current budget, the government has imposed taxes on these devices while exempting drugs. It will only increase the cost of treatment. The authorities should consider removing or at least reducing the taxation on these medical devices. (PR)

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

RELATED ARTICLES
- Advertisment -spot_imgspot_imgspot_imgspot_img

Most Popular

Recent Comments

Naheed Malik on Sons of the Soil!
Abid Ali Khan on Sons of the Soil!
Alaf Khan on LETTERS
Naheed Malik on Head Aches
Saira Bhatti on Head Aches
Abid Ali Khan on Head Aches
Muhammad Waseem Siddiqui on Prof. Zafarullah Chaudhry passes away
Naheed Malik on Being a Medical Doctor
Irfan Talib on Being a Medical Doctor
muhammad Irfan Talib on Being a Medical Doctor
Tariq Mufti on Know thy Body
Tariq Mufti on Social Media Disease
Imran Rashid on Life begins at eighty!
Saira Bhatti on Know thy Body
Abid Ali Khan on Social Media Disease
Prof Ghulam Asghar Channa on Functioning of the Basic Health Units
Abid Ali Khan on Biological Clock
Syed Abdullah on Dr. Azam Ali 1966 – 2024
Tariq Raheem on Dr. Azam Ali 1966 – 2024
Ahmed Badar on Prof. Khwaja Sadiq Husain
Munawar Aiz on LETTERS
Alaf khan on LETTERS
Nadeem Alam Zubairi on Thank You Prof. Zafarullah Chaudhry