Reorienting Healthcare from Disease-Centered to People-Centered Care

Abstract

Healthcare is entering an era of extraordinary scientific and technological progress. Advances in biomedical sciences, digital health, artificial intelligence, precision medicine, genomics, and novel therapeutics are transforming the diagnosis and management of disease. Yet, amid this rapid evolution, the fundamental purpose of healthcare remains unchanged: to promote health, prevent disease, relieve suffering, prolong healthy life, and preserve human dignity.

The central challenge for health systems is therefore not simply to develop more sophisticated interventions, but to ensure that scientific progress translates into care that is accessible, affordable, equitable, safe, effective, and responsive to the needs of people. Universal health coverage requires access to essential health services without financial hardship, while strong primary health care provides the foundation for achieving this objective.¹,²

This principle has particular relevance for Pakistan. The country faces a complex and evolving health burden, in which communicable diseases, maternal and child health challenges, malnutrition, and other preventable conditions coexist with a rapidly increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases. These challenges cannot be adequately addressed through a predominantly diseaseoriented or hospital-centred model. Pakistan needs a health system that places people and communities at its centre, with greater emphasis on prevention, early detection, continuity of care, and effective coordination across levels of healthcare. ³