The One Patient One ID system is rapidly reshaping the way healthcare services are delivered in Pakistan, and recent data from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad, highlights just how impactful this transformation has been. Between July and November 2025, the National Information Technology Board (NITB) reported a significant expansion in digital health services at PIMS, driven by the nationwide rollout of this unified patient identification platform.
At the heart of the One Patient One ID system is a simple but powerful idea: every citizen should have a single, permanent medical identity that can be used across healthcare facilities. At PIMS, one of the country’s busiest tertiary care hospitals, this concept has moved beyond theory into large-scale, real-world implementation.
Massive Patient Registration and Adoption
According to NITB statistics, more than 813,000 patients were registered at PIMS counters using the centralized digital platform within just five months. This level of adoption demonstrates strong institutional readiness and public acceptance of the One Patient One ID system. For a hospital that handles thousands of patients daily, moving such a large volume onto a unified digital record system is a major milestone.
Instead of creating new files for repeat visits, patient records are now linked to a single identifier, reducing administrative burden and minimizing errors caused by duplicate or incomplete data.
Streamlining Emergency and Diagnostic Services
The benefits of the One Patient One ID system extend far beyond registration desks. Emergency departments at PIMS managed over 387,000 patients during the same period, relying on digital records to access patient histories quickly in high-pressure situations.
Diagnostic services also saw heavy usage. More than 1.5 million laboratory tests and over 220,000 radiology tests were conducted, all managed through digitized workflows. By linking test results directly to a patient’s unique ID, doctors can review past investigations instantly, avoiding unnecessary repeat tests and speeding up clinical decision-making.
This integration is especially critical in large hospitals where patients often move between departments. Digital continuity ensures that information follows the patient, not the other way around.
Improved Inpatient Care and Hospital Efficiency
Hospital utilization data shows that nearly 30,000 patients were admitted to inpatient departments during the reporting period. Managing inpatient care is one of the most complex aspects of hospital operations, involving multiple teams, diagnostic inputs, and treatment plans.
The One Patient One ID system helps streamline this process by providing clinicians with a complete medical history at admission. This supports better treatment planning and reduces delays caused by missing or fragmented records.
To support implementation, more than 2,000 PIMS staff members received classroom and on-the-job training. This investment in human capacity has paid off. Officials report that average waiting times for medical reports have dropped to just three to four hours, a significant improvement for both patients and healthcare providers.
Handling Growing Patient Volumes
Daily patient flow at PIMS reflects the scale of operations now supported by digital systems. Outpatient departments handle between 5,000 and 7,500 patients each day, while emergency services manage up to 2,500 cases daily.
Without a unified digital backbone, managing such volumes would place enormous strain on manual systems. The One Patient One ID system enables faster processing, better queue management, and more accurate data capture, helping the hospital cope with rising demand.
How the System Works Nationwide
Under the One Patient One ID system, a citizen’s Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) number serves as their permanent medical record number. This allows healthcare providers to retrieve a patient’s full medical history—including diagnoses, lab results, treatments, and prescriptions—regardless of where they previously received care.
This nationwide approach reduces duplication of tests, improves continuity of care, and supports telemedicine services by making records accessible across locations. It also creates a reliable data foundation for evidence-based public health planning and policy development.
A Key Pillar of Health Digitization
Officials describe the One Patient One ID system as a cornerstone of the federal government’s broader health digitization drive. Implemented in coordination with NADRA, the initiative aims to improve administrative efficiency, transparency, and data security across the healthcare sector.
PIMS has emerged as a leading implementation site, demonstrating how large public hospitals can successfully transition to digital systems without disrupting patient care. The results so far suggest that similar outcomes could be achieved nationwide as the system expands.
The success seen at PIMS between July and November 2025 shows that digital health reform in Pakistan is not just possible, but already underway. The One Patient One ID system is helping hospitals manage growing patient loads, reduce waiting times, and deliver more coordinated care.
As more facilities adopt this model, patients can expect a more seamless healthcare experience—one where their medical history is always available, accurate, and secure, no matter where they seek treatment.
