MMA: Glut of doctors by 2020

NST: It might not be easy to make a decent living in private medical practice by 2020.
The Malaysian Medical Association sees a worrisome glut of doctors by then, judging by present enrolments in medical courses here and abroad.
Datuk Dr N. Athimulam, chairman of the MMA’s committee on medical education, observed that 1,200 new doctors graduated annually from local institutions, with seven more institutions of higher learning going to offer medical courses in the next few years.
Dr Athimulam said universities in Ukraine and Russia were producing about 15 to 20 Malaysian doctors now, but several hundred students were in their third, fourth and fifth years of study.
The seven new colleges in the offing are Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Islamic University College Malaysia, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences, the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology, Alliance College and Monash University Sunway Campus.
Dr Athimulam said the current doctor-population ratio of 1:1,361 was going to rise to 1:400 by 2020.
"At that ratio, doctors are going to be clamouring for patients. When the competition gets tougher, unscrupulous practices may set in."
There are about 17,000 doctors nationwide today, 40 per cent of whom are in government service.
"Already the market is saturated. New doctors entering the market are finding it harder to stay in the business."
The Malaysian Medical Council’s 2004 annual report states that at the current rate of growth, there would be a surplus of about 4,000 doctors in 2020.
Dr Athimulam urged the Government to "go slow" on permits for institutions of higher learning to conduct medical courses.
Meanwhile, MMC secretary Dr Wan Mazlan Mohamed Woojdy said degrees from some of the new institutions would only be recognised after five years of operation.