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(Last updated: 29 Oct 2008)
Trends and opportunities
The market
Pakistan is a country of over 140 million people. It has a large healthcare industry both in the public and private sector. The government is by far the major provider of hospital care in rural areas, and is also the main provider of preventative care in Pakistan.
There are over 25 large hospitals with over 500 beds capacity in the public sector run by provincial health departments. There are also a number of large hospitals under the Ministry of Defence. In the private sector it is a thriving business with state-of-the-art hospitals in large cities to cater the requirement of a growing affluent class.
The local healthcare industry includes a number of instrument manufacturers and pharmaceuticals; this industry largely depends on the import of raw material from UK, Germany, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
Pakistan has number of quality medical colleges mainly under the strict control of Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC) and funded by the government.
The government has recently given administrative and financial autonomy to some of the government-owned hospitals and affiliated colleges in some major cities. This is largely due to poor funding and administrative controls.
Hospitals in Pakistan require upgrade in equipment and facilities. There are only a few large private hospitals working on international standards and they are considered expensive; but they provide good facilities and have qualified medical staff.
Pakistan is a market for both high and low end products depending on the customer need. There is a significant surge in the import of used medical equipment in the recent years and the government under the rule of not more than five-year-old equipment facilitates such imports.
In the public sector, provincial, federal and some local governments operate tertiary care hospitals in the larger urban areas. In rural areas and smaller towns, the provincial governments operate an extensive network of first-level care facilities and secondary-care hospitals, supported by several federal programs including the community-based Lady Health Workers’ program.
Health insurance is not common and insurance companies have only recently started offering products in Pakistan. Almost all-multinational companies provide health cover to their employees. Dependence on the private sector for healthcare is increasing, resulting in several small hospitals being planned in the private sector. Laboratories providing radiological and pathological services are also increasing. There is a shortage of paramedical staff in all cities.
Opportunities
Export opportunities in Pakistan's health industry (both internally and externally) include:
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Training (paramedics/bio-med technicians and engineers)
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Medical education
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Hospital equipment (electro-medical equipment, eg. operating room equipment, radiology, ICU equipment, pathology lab equipment and supplies, equipment and supplies for heart surgery and angio procedures)
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Hospital furniture including bed, nursing supplies trolley, etc.
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Diagnostics and pathology services
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Surgical services
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Hospital waste management systems
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Nursing and surgical supplies and consumables
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Sutures
Competitive environment
With current major suppliers being from the USA, China and Europe, there are many opportunities for cost competitive Australian suppliers in a Pakistan’s price sensitive industry.
A number of wealthy Pakistanis go abroad for treatment, particularly for complex surgery, such as bone marrow transplant and heart surgery. Some go simply because of the better quality of medical care, others because the procedure is not be available in Pakistan.
Generally, Australia has not featured as healthcare destination, mainly due to a lack of awareness. It is a market of opportunity for Australian healthcare providers as – in comparison to the competition – Australia offers similar high quality services at a lower cost to consumers.
The purchase process for the government sector is tedious and, although it is responsible for over 70 per cent of medical equipment sold in Pakistan, it is not the main target market.
Generally, overseas suppliers focus on the market niches in public and private sector healthcare centres. The number of hospitals in the private sector is increasing in the areas of orthopaedic, heart and children.
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