In recent weeks, the rising cost of private health care in Malaysia has been an issue with public outcry, due to its contributory cause towards rising private hospitalisation insurance.
The private medical centre began modestly with the Chinese Maternity Hospital in Negeri Sembilan as early as 1932, followed by Assunta Hospital as early as 1954, until Pantai Medical Centre was founded in 1974. Since then, especially over the last 25 years, the growth has been phenomenal with now over 212 private medical centres, offering 17,000 inpatient beds, and 5,000 private medical specialists providing excellent service.
There is no doubt at all that private health care services – both private hospitals and private family practice clinics – provide a vital complementary and supplementary service, together with Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals (148 in number) and hundreds of health care centres towards the health of the nation.
Malaysia has always been acknowledged and acclaimed as having a model dual health care system envied by many nations.
Furthermore, as Malaysia now tops the world as an ideal second home or retirement nation for the world, health care services by both private and government hospitals are always mentioned as a strong factor for retirees looking for an alternative home to settle in during their later years of life.
Apart from that, Malaysia is also noted as a key centre for health tourism, where tourists come for a holiday and get their health problems fixed.
Therefore, it is very obvious that this growth of the private health care system is not only an asset and pride of the nation, but also a part of the national economic growth. One way to understand and appreciate the excellent services in private health care is to compare with the amazing growth of private educational institutions from kindergarten to secondary school to universities and colleges.
How then should we address the problem of rising costs of health care? Rather than jump at private specialists and private hospitals, and implement cost control measures that may crush the whole industry or corporations (if we can call it one), the authorities concerned need to study all aspects of the private medical practice and services being provided.
Private specialists fees for consultation and procedures are capped under the Private Healthcare Facilities & Services Act 1998. While the spotlight is now on private hospitals, we fully agree with Dr Kuljit Singh, the president of the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM), that the implementation of any cost control measures, without careful consideration and discussions, may be detrimental to the effective operation of private medical centres.
The government, at this critical moment, should step up funds and budgets to significantly improve the public health care service by building new government hospitals in Petaling Jaya, Selangor; Penang; and other regions where the masses now live.
Why should pensioners and other senior civil servants seek health care from private medical centres, if university, premier and major government hospitals provide excellent and good services, as they have been providing for decades before the arrival of private medical centres?
The author is adviser to the Association of Specialists in Private Medical Practice Malaysia.
- This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of CodeBlue.
