KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 — The Ministry of Health’s (MOH) outsourcing exercise to private hospitals has significantly reduced waiting times for a number of medical services, according to Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad.
A 2024 survey on the impact of the Hospital Services Outsourcing Programme (HSOP) revealed that arteriovenous fistula (AVF) surgery experienced a 75 per cent reduction in waiting times, from 16 weeks to 4 weeks.
Additionally, waiting times for MRI and ultrasound services were reduced by 20 per cent, from 20 weeks to 16 weeks, while CT scan waiting times saw a 14 per cent reduction, from 14 weeks to 12 weeks.
The 2024 HSOP involved outsourcing four key service areas: radiology and imaging (CT scans, MRI, ultrasound), nephrology (AVF surgery), cardiothoracic surgery (adult and paediatric heart surgery), and cardiology (investigations and interventions).
“Services under HSOP will be expanded from time to time according to demand and the number of patients requiring treatment,” Dzulkefly said in a written Dewan Negara reply to Senator Noraini Idris last December 4.
In Sabah, Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Kota Kinabalu has been directly involved in the 2024 HSOP, covering radiology and imaging (CT scans and MRIs) and cardiology (Holter monitoring system and echocardiography) services.
As of November 19 last year, 242 patients in Sabah have benefited from the outsourcing initiative, which has significantly reduced waiting times for these services, Dzulkefly said.
The health minister added that the MOH will continue the HSOP programme.
Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) president Dr Kuljit Singh told a January 9 town hall organised by the MOH on diagnosis-related groups (DRG) that private hospitals empanelled with HSOP actually incurred losses from the programme over the last one year.
“The private hospitals are absorbing it; we’re doing it like CSR, but we’re willing to do it to help the government,” he said.
