Specialists without the long journey: Pakistan launches telemedicine phase two with Sehat Kahani, 10 more centres planned

A signature in Islamabad on Monday could save a lot of patients a very long trip. The Ministry of Health and the digital healthcare platform Sehat Kahani have signed an agreement launching the second phase of Pakistan’s telemedicine programme, which will add ten more telemedicine centres across the country.

Phase one done, phase two under way
Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal signed the memorandum of understanding alongside Sehat Kahani officials, and called it another milestone crossed. The first phase, run with Sehat Kahani, set up ten telemedicine centres. The second phase will add ten more. Where exactly the new centres will open, and when, has not been announced yet — and that detail matters, because the whole point of the programme is reaching places where a specialist is otherwise hours away.

PIMS joins the network too
One clause of the deal reaches beyond the new centres themselves. The Outpatient Department (OPD) and the Trauma Center of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad are being integrated with the telemedicine networks. In practice, that means the expertise sitting inside the capital’s biggest public hospital will be reachable from smaller centres plugged into the same system, rather than requiring every patient to travel to Islamabad.

How the programme got here
The rollout began quietly in January 2026 with a first digital health centre in Gokina, on the outskirts of Islamabad, followed by centres in Karachi and Bhambar Tarar. By July, more than 14,500 people had already received consultations and treatment through the centres, according to earlier reporting. The ministry’s agreement with Sehat Kahani covers 5,000 online doctors providing remote consultations. The logic behind it has stayed the same from the start: big tertiary hospitals are overcrowded, and most patients would be better served closer to home. Kamal put it in plain terms at the signing — every possible effort is being made to improve the quality of life of the common man. If phase two lands where it is needed most, that line will be judged on waiting rooms, not on ceremonies.