KARACHI: The Sindh government plans to introduce advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), which will not only improve patient care but also provide access to data for research and help the hospital develop its own protocols for various diseases.
This announcement was made by Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah during the 2nd Postgraduate Research Conference organized by the JPMC at its auditorium on Friday.
“This will be the first time outside the US that advanced AI technology will be deployed to create predictive algorithms based on the local Pakistani population and disease patterns,” said CM Shah.
In collaboration with the Patient Aids Foundation, the Sindh government has engaged the renowned firm PAXERA to install PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) and AI technologies at the JPMC. These technologies are currently used at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Harvard Medical School’s Mass General Hospital in the USA.
CM Shah also highlighted that the provincial government plans to offer open access to these AI models to other institutes, particularly in rural areas. This initiative aims to enable less experienced doctors to achieve the same level of diagnostic accuracy as the JPMC using AI.
CM Shah recalled the transformation of JPMC since its devolution from the federal government in 2011, mentioning significant increases in bed capacities and budgets. “In 2011, JPMC had 1,185 beds, the NICH 443, and the NICVD 464. Today, JPMC has 2,208 beds, NICH 553, and NICVD 1,280. The government’s budget allocation has also risen from Rs1.9 billion to Rs25.75 billion today,” he noted.
The government has introduced advanced technologies such as CyberKnife and Tomo Therapy, offering these services free of cost.
JPMC executive director Prof Shahid Rasool expressed gratitude to the government and the Patient Aids Foundation for their support in making JPMC one of the largest health facilities in the country. The event also featured speeches from Higher Education Commission-Sindh Chairman Prof Tariq Rafi, and other prominent healthcare leaders.
