| Cover Story | january-february , 2021 | The Health
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7 main issues and concerns
shown the most vulnerable group was those with low immune symptoms . Such people are those with chronic diseases like hypertension , diabetes , kidney disease and even obesity ( the Metabolic Syndrome ) and those with cancer and the elderly .
“ Even though the Covid-19 situation will eventually get better especially with the vaccine , another virus can always return , and I believe we really have to focus on educating and helping people overcome these chronic diseases with lifestyle changes and wellness programmes .
“ Metabolic diseases are the biggest healthcare burdens in Malaysia and the rest of the world .”
Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia ( APHM ) President Dr Kuljit Singh anticipates an increase of load in the public hospitals as more patients will return to hospitals once the fear of Covid-19 transmission dissipates .
He added : “ We are not sure how many people , especially those who lost their jobs because of retrenchment or because of restructuring of their job description , would be able to afford some of the health packages that they have , particularly EPF . They too may have to resort to public hospitals .”
With fewer patients and no medical tourists coming in , Dr Kuljit expressed concern on private hospitals trying to stay afloat .
Prioritising health issues
In the past couple of months , private hospitals have not seen so many patients . So , their business would have been entirely down .
The budget for the Ministry of Health is glaringly insufficient to meet the demands of healthcare , and more patients will go to public healthcare facilities because of economic turmoil .”
– Amrahi Buang
“ There was also a bit of concern because private hospitals did not have medical tourists coming in during this pandemic period . So , there was a little bit of revenue drop .
“ Most people may think private hospitals have lots of income . But actually , the income is not as much as people would think because we have a lot of expenditure to maintain and upgrade our hospitals and its standards .”
Organisation Development Advisor Jas Bhar called for higher standards for the healthcare industry in 2021 . He said patients were now more aware of demanding excellent service due to healthcare ’ s rising cost . This has given way to healthcare consumerism , value-based care and most of all , patient experience requiring higher standards of service quality .
“ This can then be translated to the adoption of international quality management standards such as the ISO 9001:2015 . This can be geared towards the medical healthcare industry with inbuilt soft skills requirements covering time management , stress management , teamwork principles , communication methodology , listening and adaptability ,” he said .
The Malaysian Association of Advancement of Functional & Interdisciplinary Medicine ( MAAFIM ) President Dr Vijaendran Subramaniam lamented that just not Malaysia , but the whole world seemed to be preoccupied with Covid-19 .
He stressed the need to prioritise other health issues that were there before , predating the pandemic .
Noting that many of the vital resources have been directed towards Covid-19 patients , he said : “ There are still more people dying of tuberculosis , malaria and probably road accidents and other conditions . These problems are still here and need to be addressed .”— The Health
1
. VACCINES AND THE PANDEMIC
There is controversy surrounding the vaccines the government is buying . The main concern is how safe they are and the transparency in procuring it . In November , the government announced it had inked a deal with pharmaceutical company Pfizer to obtain Covid-19 vaccines for 20 per cent of the Malaysian population in 2021 . However , the pricing was not disclosed .
The preliminary purchasing agreement of 12.8 million doses is to immunise 6.4 million Malaysians . Pfizer will deliver one million doses in the first quarter of next year , followed by 1.7 million doses in the second quarter , 5.8 million in the third quarter and 4.3 million doses in the fourth quarter .
Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society ( MPS ) President Amrahi Buang stressed the vaccine must be of quality , safe and effective / efficacious .
“ Post marketing or pharmacovigilance activity is a paramount issue to monitor the Adverse Effects Following Immunisation ( AEFI ). This must be observed and reported to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency ( NPRA ).”
He said pharmacists could play significant roles in logistics , educate doctors and nurses about the vaccines , and collect and report the AEFI . They can also play a highly active role in vaccine advocacy to inform the public . Trained and certified pharmacists can become vaccinators for Covid-19 vaccines .
On the issue of transparency , he said if the government went for direct negotiation with the manufacturers , the purchase contents must be made known to the public . For local distributors , they must be capable , reliable , and efficient .
He said the reported ill-effects of the vaccine in some countries was expected . This was because the Covid-19 virus was novel in nature . However , more is known now compared to the beginning of the year .
2
. DIGITAL HEALTH
With no signs of the pandemic abating , we are likely to see digital health play a vital role in the healthcare sector in 2021 . We will see a level of technology not previously seen before the pandemic .
For one , there will be an expansion of telemedicine in 2021 .
With people taking more precautions to avoid being infected , there has been a behavioural shift where patients are more receptive to virtual consultation and telemedicine .
Nevertheless , there is a need for a change in mindset and perception telemedicine to take off . Patients worry whether the diagnosis and treatment will be just as effective as face-to-face treatment . Meanwhile , doctors have to cope with digitisation and seamless connectively with patients .
Chief Medical Innovation Officer of Ainqa Health Dr Dhesi Baha Raja said digital health was the spine of today ’ s healthcare , adding healthcare was about accessibility and affordability .
“ Accessibility can only be achieved through technology . People want seamless connectivity with their physicians .
“ Seamless connectivity will save many lives since unnecessary tests can be reduced , and patients treated based on the availability of their health records at any given point of time .”
He noted the Ministry of Health ( MoH ) was working closely with the Malaysian Medical Council ( MMC ) to develop guidelines to support the ecosystem of virtual consultations . Dr Dhesi also highlighted it was important for the government to relook at the existing infrastructure and roadmaps .
“ The agility to move from one technology to another should be considered when building a roadmap for a country . The technology has to be industry-agnostic ,” he said .