KUALA LUMPUR, August 21 — The Ministry of Health (MOH) will be holding a meeting next Monday to address private general practitioners’ (GPs) complaints about ambiguous Covid-19 screening guidelines.
“There is a special meeting on August 24 to answer,” Health Minister Dr Adham Baba told CodeBlue, when asked for his comment on issues raised by GPs about the use of antigen rapid test kits (RTK) at private clinics.
Deputy Health Minister Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali told CodeBlue that he believes the meeting will be chaired by Health deputy director-general (public health) Dr Chong Chee Kheong.
CodeBlue previously reported that a virtual meeting was held on July 24 between MOH officials and GPs about guidelines for the private sector on using the antigen RTK. However, physicians were disappointed as the guidelines were based on the setting of public health clinics (Klinik Kesihatan) and not GP clinics.
The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) had asked about infection and prevention control, and quarantine criteria when private clinics run antigen RTKs on low-risk individuals with influenza-like symptoms.
The doctors’ group also complained about private GPs being sidelined since the start of the coronavirus outbreak in Malaysia, as they urged the government to work together with them in Covid-19 testing to reduce congestion in public clinics.
