Materia Medica Malaysiana

Many unaware of Patients Charter

NINE years after the Patients Charter was accepted, many people, even those in the medical service, are not aware of it.
Datuk Dr S. Sothi Rachagan, the Consumer Rights columnist in Berita Harian, said the concept of a charter was not new.
He said a similar charter was drafted in South Korea by its consumer association and accepted by the government in 1985.
Malaysia, however, drafted its Patients Charter after lengthy discussions among consumers and medical service providers.
These discussions, involving parties like the Federation of Consumer Associations (Fomca), Malaysian Medical Association and the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society, took six years before the charter was finally drafted in 1993 and accepted with minor amendments, in 1995.
The country’s Patients Charter was widely acclaimed and received positive comments from the British medical journal, The Lancet, in 1994.
But Dr Sothi said that no review has been carried out since 1995, causing its weakness to remain, that is, the absence of an enforcement body to deal with matters of rights and responsibilities.
He suggested that as a measure of enforcing the charter, the Health Ministry should be involved in promoting it.
Another measure is for Fomca to recall the parties involved in formulating the original charter for a meeting to review and update the charter.
He also proposed various committees to work on strategies to promote the charter.