Optimising Outcomes and Creating Value in a Changing Healthcare Landscape

Published on 26 Nov 2019

The Kingsley Strategic Institute organised the 2019 Malaysian Healthcare Conference with the theme Optimising Outcomes and Creating Value in a Changing Healthcare Landscape. The conference brought together healthcare practitioners, healthcare associations, pharmaceuticals, representatives from agencies of the Ministry of Health, and stakeholders of Malaysian healthcare sector.

The Minister of Health, YB Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly Bin Ahmad, gave the Keynote Address which gave an overview of Malaysian healthcare environment and highlighted several initiatives by the government such PeKa B40 and MySalam.

Key points and recommendations which emerged from the four session during the conference include:

• Healthcare cost will continue to increase, making current financing models unsustainable.
• More public-private collaborations should be encouraged with greater utilisation of resources in terms of facilities, equipment, and human resources to create a more efficient and sustainable health system.
• Exercise caution towards value-pricing as doing away with tender agents may have an adverse impact on overall healthcare cost for the government as prices may have to be increased when private sector companies are forced to incur the same cost required for compliance.
• Lift the embargo on the Harvard report presented to the Ministry of Health in March 2016 to enable stakeholders to offer suggestions of how the situation can be improved.
• Decisions should be made based on evidence using Health Technology Assessment (HTA), Horizon Scanning, and Clinical Practice Guidelines provided by the Malaysian Health Technology Assessment Section.
• Data from electronic medical records can to be shared securely among researchers to develop more effective treatments and procedures. Despite progress with the Malaysian Health Data Warehouse, continued government funding is still necessary to build a virtual environment to enable researchers and the public to conduct analysis.
• More insurance companies should partner with the government on funds like mySalam and PeKa B40 to offer social protection insurance premiums.
• A Citizen-Funded National Health Insurance Scheme supplemented by private health insurance is key to sustainable healthcare funding.
• The funding of the health insurance system should come from contributions from both the employer and employee. A compulsory rather than a voluntary national health insurance scheme needs to be in place to provide coverage for all. The ideal means would be to have a single-payer multiple-provider system where public and private institutions would have equal access to patients.
• Co-payments or an ear-marked tax can be introduced to create a more efficient tax system. There is also a need to convert out-of-pocket payment insurance and private insurance schemes to cover pre-existing illness conditions and include family plans.
• Introduce a patient card that is capable of storing lifetime health records and all transactions of patients.
• Utilise the Internet of Things (IoT), teleconsultations, real-time alerts, analytics and other advances in healthcare technology to improve mobility and access to healthcare.
• Introduce a back-end system via a voice interface using artificial intelligence to manage task of nurses to save time and reduce cost.
• Policies developed by the MoH need to be tailored appropriately to create a vibrant pharmaceutical industry and prevent predatory pricing. Generic-friendly policies have to be in place to bring down prices. The government must be firm with their policies and be patient in expecting ROI from this sector.
• Clear long-term policies for aging care must be developed as it will become an issue in the future.
• Adopt a common coding for medical procedures which has been developed by the MMA.
• There is a need to revise the 1992 fee schedule that is still being used in 2019. The government should review MMA’s proposal for a revised fee schedule for its feasibility.
• The MoH needs to be given the ability to take give direction to other ministries to enable joint action through smart partnerships.

Speakers of the conference include:

• YB Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly Bin Ahmad, Minister of Health Malaysia
• Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman, Chairman, IMU Group
• Izzuna Mudla Mohamed Ghazali, Public Health, Physician / Head of Horizon Scanning Unit, Malaysian Health Technology Assessment Section (MaHTAS), Ministry of Health Malaysia
• Milton S W Lum, Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, Alpha Specialist Centre
• Datuk Dr. Kuljit Singh, President, Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia
• H K Yong, Trustee & Audit Chair, World Fish/Asian Council, International Project Finance Association
• Md Khadzir B. Sheikh Ahmad, Deputy Director, Head of Health Informatics Centre, Planning Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia
• Tirupathi Karthik, Chief Executive Officer, Napier Healthcare Solutions Pte Ltd
• Amrahi Bin Buang, President, Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society
• Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar, Group Managing Director, Duopharma Biotech Bhd
• Lim Kuan Joo, Former Director, Hospital Kuala Lumpur
• Prof. Dr. Azimatun Noor Aizuddin, Head of International Center for Casemix and Clinical Coding/ Senior Lecturer & Public Health Specialist, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
• Rangam Bir, President and Chief Executive Officer, Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad
• Azrul Mohd Khalib, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy
• Chua Hong Teck, Senior Advisor, Research Triangle Institute (RTI) Malaysia
• Datuk Dr. Narimah Awin, Former Regional Adviser (Maternal and Reproductive Health), World Health Organisation (SEARO)
• Dr. Hematram Yadav, Professor of Community Medicine, Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, MAHSA University
• Prof. To’ Puan Dr. Safurah Jaafar, Head of Division, Family and Population Health, International Medical University, Program Director Business in Healthcare Management, IMU
• Natasha Francis, Business Development Executive, Doctor2U

The 2019 Malaysian Healthcare Conference was made possible with the support of Napier Healthcare.