Six Months For Medical Practitioners To Get Used To New Act

PUTRAJAYA, April 24 (Bernama) -- General medical practitioners (GPs) will be given six months to familiarise themselves with the regulations and guidelines under the new Private Healthcare Facilities Act 1998 which comes into force on May 1, Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said Monday.
He said the GPs needed ample time to understand the various aspects of the Act because it would cover 12 healthcare facilities and services, as opposed to the more lenient Private Hospital Act 1971, which covered only three types of private healthcare services.
Thus, the Act would be implemented in phases, starting with the central region in Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding areas of the Klang Valley, followed by the northern and southern regions and finally, Sabah and Sarawak.
"Right now, we are holding roadshows in all the states and districts throughout the country to assist the GPs in the Act's implementation," he told journalists after a briefing on the implementation of the Act for some 300 GPs here.
Talks by the ministry's officials at the roadshows would mainly be directed at private family healthcare clinics and dental clinics which had to register under the new Act, he said.
Private hospitals registered under the Act would have to receive scheduled visits by a Board of Visitors, assigned to ensure that the minimum criteria on facilities, equipment and staffing were adhered to.
Dr Chua said the Act was a bold move by the government to regulate the private healthcare industry in view that health services were now more commercialised and the costs were escalating.
The patients would benefit as they were be attended to by licensed and approved clinics which provided highly regularised healthcare and support, he said.
The public would also have an avenue to air their grouses and complaints to the board of visitors over the healthcare services rendered by clinics throughout the country.
"Under this new Act, any complaint will be investigated. If the hospitals are unable to investigate, the Director-General of Health will investigate and action can be taken on any complaints which have grounds and are supported by evidence," he said.
Under the Act, the private hospitals would have to make welfare and social contributions like participating in blood donation drives, giving special discounts to the disabled and underprivileged and giving emergency treatment to patients at no cost.
There would also be a minimum standard on equipment/apparatus/appliance for emergency treatment, ambulance, doctors' bag and others, Dr Chua added.
He said offenders could face a minimum fine of RM1,000 and maximum of RM500,000 as well as a jail term of up to six years if convicted.