KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 — The Cheras government health clinic launched today a cashless payment system in a bid to cut wait times and loss of cash payments.
Four Ministry of Health (MOH) government health clinics nationwide currently offer the Boost e-Wallet method of payment as part of a pilot programme spearheaded by the ministry, Boost, Axiata Digital Ecode Sdn Bhd and RHB Islamic Bank Berhad.
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad, who launched the fourth Boost e-Wallet service at the government health clinic in Cheras today, said he hopes the initiative will shorten the waiting time for over-the-counter registrations and aid in fostering a cashless society in the country.
The other three government health clinics part of the pilot programme are the Kuala Lumpur, Precinct 18 Putrajaya and Seremban clinics. The project started in September this year.
“The use of the e-Wallet at government health clinics will certainly help these…clinics reduce the number of cases of public money getting lost — (which is) quite serious — and foster integrity among those who work over-the-counters,” he said in his opening speech at the launch this morning here.
“After this, the use of the e-wallet, Boost, service will be expanded to all government health clinics and hospitals in phases,” he added.
He expected this to take place in the near future, adding that the extension of the service will also depend on how successful the programme is during its pilot phase.
Medical bills can currently be settled at government hospitals, health clinics and select health institutions in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya through credit or debit cards.
Malaysians only pay subsidised rates of RM1 and RM5 for outpatient and specialist services at MOH facilities respectively, covering registration, consultation, medical tests like X-rays or urine tests, and medicines.
Data provided by the MOH today showed that a total of 15.58 million paying patients frequented government health clinics in Malaysia from January to September of this year. A total of 20.84 million paying patients came in 2018, and 20.85 million for 2017. Non-paying patients include civil servants, pensioners, senior citizens, and people with disabilities.
Dzulkefly attributed the high number of patients to the quality and low-costing service provided by MOH.
