Establishing Professional Standards in Pakistan

In response to Pakistan’s Allied Health Professionals Council (AHPC) Act of 2022, which mandated uniform standards for rehabilitation professions, Physiopedia led an initiative to strengthen professional regulation across Pakistan’s rehabilitation sector. Using the Professionalization and Regulation Reflection Tool (PRRT), this project brought together national professional associations to develop comprehensive regulatory frameworks aligned with the new legislation.

Under the guidance of international mentor Yara Peterko and national coordinator Neelum Zehra, the project united representatives from multiple professions including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and prosthetics and orthotics. Through structured workshops and collaborative sessions, participants worked to break down traditional professional silos and create unified approaches to meet the Act’s requirements for registration, licensing and professional standards.

Key achievements include:

• Development of an interprofessional international code of ethics
• Creation of profession-specific standards of practice and scope of practice aligned with the Act’s requirements
• Establishment of a National Rehabilitation Alliance to strengthen unified advocacy
• Enhanced collaboration between professional associations and academic institutions
• Development of frameworks ready for Allied Health Professionals Council review and national implementation

The impact of this interprofessional approach is reflected in participant feedback: “It allowed me to understand the critical aspects related to developing scope of practice but it also provided an opportunity to review and provide opinion on scope of practice developed by fellow OTs, SLT and P&Os…an opportunity to deepen our understanding of each other’s work.” – Dr. Muhammad Ehab Azim, Physiotherapist and AHPC member

This project demonstrates how systematic use of the PRRT can facilitate effective collaboration while strengthening individual professions. By bringing together diverse stakeholders to work toward common goals, the initiative has created a strong foundation for implementing comprehensive rehabilitation regulation as mandated by the 2022 Act.

If you would like to learn more about using the PRRT to strengthen professional standards through interprofessional collaboration, please contact us.