KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 – Prof Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman has urged the government to invest in a digital training rotation system for medical professionals, drawing inspiration from the airline industry’s flight scheduling and crew rotations.
The infectious disease expert said that transitioning to digital systems is necessary not only for medical records but also for training and duty rotations, citing the impracticality of manual methods currently used by the Ministry of Health (MOH).
“What system does the MOH use to rotate your doctors through? Manual, right? Can you imagine if AirAsia or Qatar Airways or Emirates still uses pen and paper to rotate their crew? The planes won’t fly,” Dr Adeeba said at the “Specialising in Malaysia” forum organised by the Malaysian Medical Association’s (MMA) Section Concerning House Officers Medical Officers and Specialists (Schomos) last February 3.
“The time has come for the government to invest in a digital system that rotates our doctors. Once someone says, ‘I want to do internal medicine,’ you can give them a training number and tell them, one year you will be in Taiping, another year you will be in Parit Buntar, another year you will go to wherever – university or not – so that they are locked in,” she explained.
The digital system, according to Dr Adeeba, would allow doctors to plan their lives effectively and eliminate potential resentment when assigned to remote areas for extended periods.
Referencing the airline industry’s intricate rotation practices, she stressed the importance of leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for efficient management.
“We need to learn from the airline industry how they rotate people around – [which is] even more complicated, right? Every three days and all that. I’m sure we can invest in this,” Dr Adeeba said.
“If let’s say Chia, you’re in Taiping, right, and your specialty is geriatrics. Why can’t Chia, I know he’s already super busy, oversee someone?” she proposed.
Dr Adeeba, currently serving as president and pro vice-chancellor of Monash University Malaysia, envisioned a scenario where the effective clustering of hospitals and leveraging technology could enable experienced professionals to oversee medical officers in remote locations.
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad previously said that digitalisation of the health care system would be among his key priority areas.
