I refer to an article published by the CodeBlue Editorial Board on January 9 titled “CodeBlue’s View: Doctors Must Follow The Law. Period.”
The article is of the staunch view that doctors should be compliant to the law and not be above the law as it is in the best interest of public safety. A very fair and reasonable demand, which I as a registered and currently licensed medical practitioner completely and wholeheartedly agree with.
However, CodeBlue’s editorial regarding the current issue of doctors without an annual practising certificate (APC) appears to be misconstrued. In reality, the issue is that doctors DID indeed comply with the law and submitted their applications for their APC well ahead of the statutory due date of December 1, a few others before December 31, for which the Medical Act makes provisions for.
It was the Malaysian Medical Council’s (MMC) administrative failure to issue the APCs to these doctors who had in reality complied with the law that created this conundrum.
The article seems to portray that doctors aren’t being legally compliant with a broad brush when most of them WERE and continue to be legally compliant. It was a pure regulatory failure that resulted in this debacle, not the failure of the registered medical practitioners and yes, they are still registered just not licensed for this year due to administrative failures.
Most doctors are not just compliant to the law but downright fearful of running afoul of it. As doctors, we have not just one or two laws but numerous laws that we have to comply to.
There are at least 10 statutory laws that the average general practitioner has to comply with to run a general practitioner (GP) clinic practice in Malaysia, let alone the medicolegal issues that can arise from said practice.
So yes, most doctors are very compliant with the law. They have to be, even before they even touch a patient, let alone prior to charging a legally regulated fee.
It is odd that CodeBlue is vehemently highlighting this issue with strong statements as the following in the article: “The reason the Medical Act expressly prohibits medical practitioners from charging fees for services rendered during the period without a valid APC, beyond just practicing medicine, is precisely to prevent profiting from unlicensed health care services.”
Are the authors of the article trying to imply that the doctors in Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals and medical facilities, as well as those in public universities who don’t charge a fee for their services to the patient, be allowed to continue to practise without a valid APC?
What about those that are not regulated under MMC and continue to provide illegal health care services? Are they not much of a concern for public safety?
The article also seems to imply that, at the stroke of midnight, as the new year begins, all previously registered and licensed medical practitioners suddenly become incompetent and incapable of performing their duties, which they could perform competently just minutes prior.
As without their APC in hand, all prior knowledge and skill are wiped away and only return to the registered medical practitioners when the APC is in their hands akin to a magical wand of medicine. That sounds very logical indeed.
I have rarely seen the editorial team highlight issues regarding completely unregistered and unlicensed “health care practitioners” or criticise the regulatory authorities so vehemently for failing to take action against them.
As a matter of fact, one of the few articles published on this portal regarding unlicensed and unregistered health care practitioners was written by myself, yet there was no follow-up on the issue I wrote about.
Maybe completely illegal, unlicensed, unregistered, and uncredentialed individuals providing “medical” services and performing “medical” procedures on the public is not a significant enough issue when contrasted with administrative errors.
Maybe it is just I that fail to see the real big picture that administrative and clerical errors can devastate the health care system, whereas completely unregulated, unregistered, uncredentialed, and unlicensed individuals profiteering from the unwary public is only a small matter.
After all, I am just a doctor, what do I know? It is not like I have actually seen the dire consequences of such failures, have I?
There are many “health care practitioners” who were NEVER registered under any medical regulatory body and NEVER licensed, but have continued to practise ILLEGALLY for decades, whilst the media has remained eerily silent and continue to do so.
There are individuals that are licensed in one area of health care, but illegally practice another without appropriate training, qualifications and credentials as well without any repercussions either on the premise of “public necessity”, that too appears to be acceptable for some.
These individuals openly advertise their “medical” services and the regulatory authorities have repeatedly failed to act despite numerous complaints, but this is not a real public safety concern or newsworthy, is it?
But heaven forbid that bona fide registered medical practitioners who DID COMPLY with the law be allowed to continue to earn a living due to administrative failings. No, they should be shunned and shamed publicly, not because of their own failures, but the failures of others, and the media should use this as an opportunity to stomp on the credibility of the medical profession.
Well, whatever sells papers, right?
If the objective of the press is truly in the interest in public safety, should the media highlight the issues of illegal and unregistered non doctor practitioners who perform “medical” duties and procedures with half the gusto as they have covered this APC issue, the public would be far better educated and protected.
All I ask is for those who can scrutinise the doctors with such vigour show half as much energy in scrutinising those that have been truly profiteering from fraudulent health care services for decades. Or maybe, I am just too audacious with my expectations.
This is the humble opinion of a legally compliant medical practitioner.
The author is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist.
- This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of CodeBlue.
