KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 – The Ministry of Health (MOH) has selected several public hospitals and health clinics in Negeri Sembilan as pilot locations to test the government’s digital rollout plan, according to Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni.
Lukanisman told the Dewan Rakyat last Tuesday that efforts to digitalise the health care system would commence next year, beginning with the installation of digital systems in chosen public health care facilities.
“For the national health system, we indeed have detailed a proposal and plan to digitalise the health system. The minister has announced that this process will extend until 2030, with various projects underway.
“For instance, in Negeri Sembilan, we are initiating a pilot digitalisation programme for government hospitals and clinics and are also identifying a few applications. We have to introduce electronic medical records (EMRs) in government hospitals to ensure that all these records can be linked and accessed. For example, if you fall sick in Miri today, you can’t bring your medical record to Serdang Hospital.
“Also starting next year, we will increase the installation of digital systems to new clinics and hospitals that have been identified,” Lukanisman said in response to Gopeng MP Tan Kar Hing’s question on the status of the digitalisation of the health system.
In addition to health care facilities in Negeri Sembilan, Lukanisman said there are several other hospitals and health clinics that will also receive upgrades to their digital systems.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced in his Budget 2024 speech that the government would allocate RM150 million to maintain and expand information technology (IT) systems under the Ministry of Health (MOH).
This includes the implementation of the Clinic Management System Subscription (CCMS) in 100 health clinics, covering rural and community clinics as well.
In May, Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa announced the nationwide targeted rollout of the EMR system by 2026. She said that the system was to ensure a better, seamless delivery of services to patients at public health care facilities.
Additionally, the MOH will implement various digital solutions, such as a portal for patient records in government clinics lacking the necessary hardware and infrastructure.
Earlier this year, CodeBlue reported that Selayang Hospital’s EMR system had not been upgraded, resulting in several manual processes. Doctors pointed out that this manual process led to delays and compromised patient care.
Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL), one of the country’s largest and busiest hospitals, was also reported to handle up to 16,000 medical records manually every day.
