Ministry Relaxes Rules For Private Clinics

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 11 (Bernama) -- Private clinics will not need to install public telephones or have generator sets except for those performing major operations.
They also do not need to report their social or welfare contribution activities or find two referees to attest to the character and fitness of the practitioners.
These are among provisions in the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act (1998) and its regulations that have been relaxed by the Health Ministry following a protest by private medical practitioners.
Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said the ministry agreed that some requirements under the regulations might not be suitable in the present time after talks held with the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners Associations of Malaysia (FPMPAM) and Malaysian Medical Association (MMA).
For instance, he said, the provision of public telephones was unnecessary since most people today carried handphones.
A review of the unsuitable provisions and introduction of the necessary amendments to the regulations would be done in due time, he said when launching the Clinic Manual and Standard Operating Procedures for independent private medical practitioners, Monday.
Other requirements in the regulations that will no longer be made compulsory are the submission of supporting documents such as the full registration certificate, statutory declaration for established clinics, certificate of fitness for occupanscy and Fire Department certificate.
Clinics also need not submit a 1:100 scale floor plan of the premises which can be replaced with a sketch plan that includes dimensions and functionality of the areas.
The requirement to submit the particulars of staff members other than the medical or dental practitioners employed or engaged is also relaxed.
Dr Chua said the regulations should be implemented in a flexible and responsive manner and should not do more harm than good to private medical practitioners.
He said the law was not intended to punish private medical practitioners or to put in place a bureaucratic body to "breathe down the necks" of doctors.
"Rather, the Act seeks to protect the rights of patients, and is part of the ministry's agenda to create a national healthcare system that is patient-centred," he said.