Materia Medica Malaysiana

Prescription for well-being: "THE Government will allocate RM20mil to expedite the setting up of the Centre for Disease Control to combat the spread of diseases.
Though the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak has ended, the Government will continue to be vigilant and put in place measures to prevent such diseases, in case of recurrence. The Government also accorded its appreciation to all medical staff who had sacrificed and took risks during the screening of visitors and treating SARS patients.
To improve healthcare, the import duty of 10% on health supplements would be abolished and pensioners would be able to enjoy discounts on selected medicines.
Under the allocation of RM9bil, which is an increase of 20.5% from last year, the healthcare system would be upgraded to provide essential medical services such as dialysis, intensive care and programmes to reduce morbidity and mortality among children.
Surveillance, with an allocation of RM3mil, would be continued on infectious diseases such as SARS, tuberculosis, leprosy and dengue.
However, to reduce the increasing financial burden of healthcare for the Government, the health insurance industry was encouraged to widen its coverage by providing lower premiums affordable to a majority of Malaysians.
To attract more medical specialists, the Government would set up private commercial wings in government hospitals to enable serving doctors to enjoy better remuneration and provide treatment at reasonable charges.
With the specialists serving in government hospitals, these medical facilities would then be promoted abroad as part of health tourism.
When contacted, Hospital Kuala Lumpur infectious disease unit head and senior consultant physician Dr Christopher Lee said it was “money put in the right place” especially where surveillance of illnesses was concerned.

“Due to the recent SARS outbreak, it is important to strengthen our surveillance networks not only within the country but throughout Asean nations and the rest of the world,” he said.

He said early detection and rapid response was vital to fight new emerging diseases and the extra allocation would boost these networks.

On cheaper medicine for pensioners, National Council of Senior Citizens Organisations Malaysia (Nacscom) president Lum Kin Tuck said although it was a good thing, the Government should consider providing free medication for those aged 60 and above because they might not have enough to pay for the medication.
Fomca president Prof Datuk Hamdan Adnan said the RM9bil allocation was an excellent move as it showed the Government cared and this year’s budget was mature, similar to those presented in advanced countries.

“For health supplements, the Health Ministry and the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry must ensure that the buck is not passed on to the consumers as manufacturers may want to eat up the profit,” he said.
However, CAP president S. M. Mohd Idris said the move to encourage more people to take health supplements would only benefit large corporations.

“There are many local and traditional herbs that can be used,” he added.