PHC develops hospital grading manual to improve healthcare quality in Punjab

LAHORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Jul, 2026) The Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) has developed a hospital grading manual aimed at improving the quality of healthcare services, enabling patients to make informed choices, and encouraging healthy competition among hospitals to enhance treatment standards across the province.

The grading manual was presented during a broad-based consultative meeting held at the PHC headquarters on Thursday, where leading healthcare service providers shared their feedback on the proposed framework. The initiative marks a significant step towards recognising and rewarding healthcare quality beyond the Minimum Service Delivery Standards (MSDS).

The meeting was chaired by PHC Chief Executive Officer Dr Muhammad Saqib Aziz and attended by senior management representatives from 12 leading public and private hospitals. Vice-Chancellor of Fatima Jinnah Medical University Prof Dr Khalid Masood Gondal and executives from four hospitals in Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Multan joined the session virtually.

Director Clinical Governance and Organisational Standards Dr Mushtaq Ahmed briefed participants on the hospital grading manual, highlighting its focus on quality of care, patients' right to informed choice and the potential to promote medical tourism through recognised healthcare excellence.

Addressing the participants, Dr Muhammad Saqib Aziz appreciated stakeholders for their continued support in developing the grading framework. He said the Commission had undertaken an extensive review of relevant literature, legal provisions and international best practices while ensuring the framework was adapted to Punjab's healthcare realities through extensive stakeholder consultations.

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He said the grading system would formally recognise hospitals committed to delivering high-quality care and provide patients with objective information to help them choose healthcare facilities. He added that the framework would establish a new benchmark for healthcare quality, improve service delivery across Punjab and strengthen the province's potential as a destination for medical tourism.

"Grading of hospitals is a legal mandate of the PHC through which we will reaffirm our commitment to recognising clinical excellence, empowering patients with informed choice and supporting hospitals in delivering safer and higher-quality healthcare services," Dr Saqib Aziz said.

Prof Dr Khalid Masood Gondal described the grading framework as a collaborative achievement of healthcare stakeholders and said it represented the next major step in improving healthcare quality beyond compliance with the Minimum Service Delivery Standards.

Participants welcomed the PHC initiative to recognise clinical excellence and patient safety through a structured scoring and ranking system. They stressed the need for continued PHC support to help hospitals achieve better grading outcomes and agreed that the manual should first be implemented through a pilot phase before its formal province-wide launch, allowing refinements based on practical experience.