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ACT XII OF 2019 ACT XII OF 2019 BALOCHISTAN HEALTHCARE COMMISSION ACT, 2019 An Act to improve quality of healthcare services and ban quackery in all its forms and manifestations in Balochistan [Gazette of Balochistan Extraordinary, 16th December, 2019] No. PAB / Legis; V(10) / 2019, dated 16.12.2019.---The Balochistan Health Care Commission Bill 2019 Bill No. 10 of 2019 having been passed by the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan on 18th November, 2019 and assented to by the Governor Balochistan, on 10th December, 2019 is hereby published as an Act of the Balochitsan Provincial Assembly. Preamble.---WHEREAS, it is expedient to make provisions for the improvement of quality of healthcare services, clinical governance and to ban medical or health quackery in all its forms and manifestations and to provide for establishment of the Balochistan Healthcare Commission and the matters connected or ancillary thereto; It is hereby enacted as follows:- 2. Definitions.---In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context- (a) "Act" means the Balochistan Healthcare Commission Act, 2019; (b) "Accreditation" means the process of accepting or declaring a healthcare establishment providing services in accordance with the standards and accepted medical, allopathic, homeopathic, psychological, medical social work, physiotherapy, bio-engineering, traditional healer, faith healer, shrine or Tibb-i-Unani protocols, guidelines or tools for training/teaching purpose, to concern infrastructure, human resource, equipment, procedures and other required for graduate and post-graduate programs; (c) "Certificate of registration" means the certificate issued by the Commission for registration of a healthcare service provider under section 15; (d) "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Commission; (e) "Chief Executive Officer" means the Chief Executive Officer appointed by the Commission under section 10 of this Act; (f) "Clinical governance" means a systematic approach for maintaining and improving the quality of patient care; (g) "Clinical audit" means a quality assurance process that seeks to improve the patient care against a standard criteria; (h) "Commission" means the Balochistan Healthcare Commission established under section 3 of this Act; (i) "Convener" means the convener of the Technical Advisory Committee; (j) "Council for Homeopathy" means the National Council for Homeopathy established under section 4 of the Unani, Ayurvedic and Homoeopathic Practitioners Act 1965 (II of 1965); (k) "Council for Tibb" means the National Council for Tibb established under section 5 of the Unani, Ayurvedic and Homoeopathic Practitioners Act, 1965 (Act II of 1965); (l) "Council of Pharmacy" means the central or provincial pharmacy council as established under section 3 of the Pharmacy Act, 1967 (Act XI of 1967). (m) "eHealthcare service" means interaction via electronic channels through radio, TV, Mobile, internet etc. in healthcare service. Its components are healthcare service recipient, service provider, the service setting/establishment, the service process/delivery/interaction; (n) "Engineering Council" means Pakistan Engineering Council established under the Pakistan Engineering Council Act, 1976 (V of 1976); (o) "Faith healer" means the person or practice of prayer and gestures that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing; (p) "Government" means the Government of Balochistan; (q) "Grading" means the ranking of the healthcare establishments made on the basis of the tools; (r) "Harassment" means aggressive (Mental/ Physical) pressure and intimidation executed by any person (disturbing, upsetting or threatening) that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person; (s) "Healthcare services" means services provided for diagnosis, treatment or care of persons suffering from any physical or mental disease, injury or disability. Its components are healthcare service recipient, service provider, the service setting/establishment, the service process / interaction / delivery, and eHealthcare service at all components of healthcare service; (t) "Healthcare service establishment/setting" means a hospital, diagnostic centre, medical clinics, medical store, pharmacy, Tabib shop, Hakim Shop, Pensari Shop, psychologist settings, traditional healer, cupping, tattoo, saloon, hair cutting shop, hair grafting, ear piercing, fortune teller settings, magicians settings, infertility centres, faith healer setting, nursing home, maternity home, dental clinic, homeopathy clinic, Tibb clinic, acupuncture, physiotherapy clinic, Faith-healer Settings, or any other premises or conveyance- (i) wholly or partly used for providing healthcare services; and (ii) declared by the Government, by order published in the official Gazette, as a healthcare establishment; (u) "Healthcare service process/interaction" means human to human (the service provider and recipient) interaction, service delivery and treatment, human and ehealthcare service, printing material, wall chalking, printing material; (v) "Healthcare service provider" means an owner, manager or in-charge, worker of a healthcare establishment and includes a person registered by the Pakistan Medical Commission, Council for Tibb, Council for Homeopathy or Nursing Council, Pakistan Engineering Council, paramedical and Pharmacy Council. It also includes Pensari, Hakim, faith healer, Tibib, Hair Grafter, traditional healer, Khathna / circumcision, magic therapist, sex therapist, infertility therapist, ear piercing expert, mobile dental/eye healer, tattoo expert, cupping expert etc., paramedics, janitorial expert, hair dresser, saloon expert, sweeper, security guard, bioengineer, engineer, tattoo maker, other technical service provider; (w) "Healthcare service recipient" means the person(s) receiving services, where the primary recipient is patient and the secondary is spouse and other relatives; (x) "Inquiry team" means a group of more than three experts having postgraduate qualification and not less than fifteen years' experience in concerned field, either from public or private sector, to inquire any task given by the Commission; (y) "Institution" means the medical institutions including Hospitals, Institutions, Universities and Colleges; (z) "Inspection team" means a team comprising more than two medical experts having postgraduate qualification and not less than fifteen years' experience in the concerned field, and consisting of an employee not below the rank of B-18 of the Commission and others from public or private sector, to inspect any healthcare establishment, healthcare provider and healthcare process/delivery; (aa) "Investigation team" means team of experts in concerned specialized field(s) for investigation of case as may be referred from inspection team on the recommendation of the Commission; (bb) "license" means a license issued by the Commission under the Act for the use of any premises or conveyance as a healthcare establishment and "licensed" and "licensing" shall be construed accordingly; (cc) "licensee" means a person to whom license has been issued under the Act; (dd) "Medical negligence" means a case where a patient sustains injury or dies as a result of improper treatment in a healthcare establishment and, in case of death, determined on the basis of medical autopsy report; (ee) "Medical or health Quackery" means the promotion of fraudulent or ignorant medical practice at medical healthcare services. It defines a pretender providing health services without having registration of the Pakistan Medical Commission, Council for Tibb, Magic, Fortune Tellers, Council for Homeopathy, Nursing Council and Pharmacy Council, Pakistan Engineering Council, faith healer, traditional healer made on the basis of tools or standards; (ff) "Nursing Council" means the Pakistan Nursing Council established under section 3 of the Pakistan Nursing Council, Act, 1973 (Act XXVI of 1973); (gg) "Pakistan Medical Association" means the Pakistan Medical Association, a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (Act XXI of 1860) or such a law for the time being in force. (hh) "Pakistan Medical Commission or PMC" means the Pakistan Medical Commission as established under section 3 of the Pakistan Medical Commission Ordinance, 2019 (Ordinance XV of 2019); (ii) "Performance audit" means an independent examination of a program, function, operation or the management in the employment of available resource or standard or task done through the tools and other similar instruments; (jj) "Person" includes any person, association of persons, authority, body, company, corporation, individual, partnership, proprietorship or other entity; (kk) "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules or regulations made under the Act; (ll) "Property" includes all kinds of property and assets, whether movable or immovable, tangible or intangible, deeds of title or any document evidencing right, title or interest of any kind in any property or assets; (mm) "Quack" means a pretender providing health services without having the required knowledge/skills and registration of the Pakistan Medical Commission, Council for Tibb, Council for Homeopathy, Nursing Council, Council of Engineering and Pharmacy Council or any other Regulatory Body; (nn) "Quackery" dishonest practices and claims to have special knowledge and skill in any field of health; (oo) "Redressal Committee" means a committee of more than two members of experts and having more than fifteen years' experience in the concerned field consisting of one employee not below the rank of B-18 of the Commission and others from public or private sector, to redress any complaint referred by the Commission; (pp) "Registration" means registration under section 15 of the Act; (qq) "Regulations" means the regulations made under the Act; (rr) "Rules" means the rules made under the Act; (ss) "Search Committee" means a committee as constituted under section 13 of the Act; (tt) "Staff" means any employee or member of the Commission, healthcare establishment and includes consultants, advisors, liaison officers and experts; (uu) "Standards" include the minimum service delivery standards notified by the Government; (vv) "Technical Advisory Committee" means the Committee constituted under section 14 of the Act; (ww) "Tools" means standards of the Healthcare Services as developed/prepared by on the basis of the third party performance evaluation for Healthcare provider, Healthcare establishment and healthcare interaction/ skill/ procedure, by the Commission with the approval of the Government under section 27 of this Act; (xx) "Traditional Faith Healer" persons who perform Khathna/circumcision, magic therapy, sex therapy, infertility therapy, ear piercing, mobile dental/eye healer, tattoo expert, cupping expert etc.; and (yy) "Violence" means active and passive violence.