KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 — The Ministry of Health (MOH) said it has set up a system to integrate patients’ medical records at nine government hospitals and one public clinic.
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said in a written parliamentary reply to Senator Ananthan Somasundaram that the Malaysia Health Information Exchange (MyHIX) allowed medical practitioners to access patients’ past medical histories.
“The Health Ministry will fully widen this integration to government hospitals and clinics through the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) initiative to create a complete integrated health data warehouse,” said Dzulkefly.
The MOH facilities with the MyHIX system are Klinik Kesihatan Presint 9 Putrajaya; Hospital Putrajaya; Hospital Tuanku Jaafar; Hospital Port Dickson; Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab 2, Kota Baru; Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah, Kuala Terengganu; Hospital Bentong; Hospital Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Temerloh; Institut Kanser Negara; and Hospital Shah Alam.
Dzulkefly told Dewan Rakyat last month that a quarter of 145 MOH hospitals currently used EMRs, as he expressed plans to fully implement the system in clinics and hospitals throughout the country in three years’ time.
Doctors have told CodeBlue their concerns about confidentiality in the EMR system, as they questioned MOH about oversight mechanisms and access to patients’ health information.