Chandigarh: The Punjab Cabinet has approved the empanelment of 300 specialist doctors across 12 key medical domains, aiming to strengthen secondary healthcare services across the state.
Scope of specialist empanelment
According to an official statement issued after the meeting chaired by Bhagwant Mann, the empanelled specialists will cover medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, dermatology, chest and tuberculosis, surgery, gynecology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, ENT, and anesthesiology. These doctors will serve in government health facilities at the district level, under arrangements coordinated by civil surgeons.
Incentives and patient caps defined
The decision includes financial incentives to encourage specialist support in public hospitals. According to Harpal Singh Cheema, the state’s Finance Minister, specialists will receive an empanelment fee of Rs 100 per patient for services including OPD visits, IPD care, emergency calls, and both major and minor surgeries. However, there will be limits on how many patients a specialist can examine- between 50 and 150 patients per day in OPD and 2 to 20 patients in IPD.
Special provisions apply for night-duty specialists. If a doctor on night shift is called back to duty during daytime (8 am to 8 pm), they will receive Rs 1,000. If a doctor not originally on night duty is called during that period, the incentive will double, reflecting the higher demand and urgency.
Broader incentive policy in the works
Minister Cheema added that the government has asked officials to draft a more comprehensive incentive-based policy for government doctors and teachers posted in border areas. This move aims to further attract and retain professionals in remote or underserved regions.
With this healthcare initiative, the Punjab government seeks to bridge gaps in specialist availability and improve delivery of secondary care across the district.
Additional administrative update
In the same cabinet session, approval was granted for the updated Punjab Minor Minerals (Amendment) Policy 2025, bringing the state’s mining regulations in line with defined standards under the 2013 rules.
