KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 — The Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) acknowledged today that a system crash has mucked up doctors’ applications to renew their annual practicing certificate (APC) online.
MMC CEO Dr Mohd Khairi Yakub said the council’s medical practitioner database management system was from before 2017 and that the system had crashed towards the end of last year.
“The development of an upgraded and more robust IT system and a new data management system is now underway and will, it is hoped, address any shortcomings of the current system,” Dr Mohd Khairi said in a statement.
“Despite the limitations, the council has managed to produce 50,692 APCs to date and the current waiting time has been reduced to four weeks. Unfortunately, there will be some practitioners who will still face difficulties, as experienced by the letter writer.”
Dr Mohd Khairi was referring to a general practitioner (GP) who complained to the press last Monday about not having received their APC for this year, even though they had paid for it a year ago in June 2018 online.
The anonymous GP said without an APC, wholesale drug suppliers had to refuse their orders. The doctor also complained about how the MMC, which regulates medical practice, did not answer calls or emails, and that MMC’s website has been down for a few months.
Dr Mohd Khairi said MMC has been conducting roadshows in several states since last February to help doctors apply for their 2020 APC and to receive it on the same day.
“These efforts will continue until the new data management system is complete and stable.”