e-Kesihatan: Supremme Systems can inspect clinics of doctors in its panel

Sun2Surf: PETALING JAYA (Sept 18, 2007): Supremme Systems Sdn Bhd, the company operating the Road Transport Department (RTD)'s e-Kesihatan scheme to conduct health checks on commercial vehicle drivers, has been given the authority to inspect the clinics of doctors under its panel.
"Supremme Systems with the RTD can conduct surprise checks on doctors registered under e-Kesihatan," said company executive director Datuk Nordin Yahaya.
He said the checks can only be conducted with the RTD or with the written consent of the department.
Nordin said it was perfectly legal for them to do so as at the end of the day, they are e-Kesihatan panel doctors.
Supremme Systems had approached theSun to respond to the questions and criticisms against it and the government for farming out the health checks on commercial vehicle drivers for application and renewing of licences to a private company. The scheme takes effect Oct 1.
He stressed that all doctors are welcome to register as long as they are certified by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC).
He explained that the initial 611 doctors registered on e-Kesihatan last week were invited due to the time factor.
"We signed the agreement on Sept 3 and the launch of e-Kesihatan was on Sept 17. With only two weeks, we obtained the list of doctors from available databases, including from the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA).
"Now that the launch has been pushed to Oct 1, we have more time to get doctors to register," he said, adding that there were hundreds of new applicants since advertisements were published in the papers last week.
Nordin said Supremme Systems could do for taxpayers what the RTD was unable to -- operate an integrated fool-proof system to ensure only commercial drivers who are healthy and drug-free are allowed to ferry passengers.
He said with doctors and labs working separately from each other and payments being made to Supremme Systems via 670 post offices, there was lesser risk of fraudulent diagnosis as Supremme Systems pays the doctors and labs.
"Under the old system, there was a physical form for doctors to fill. It was prone to fraud and abuse," said Nordin.
"Under e-Kesihatan, the RTD will not rely on physical observation alone. The doctor does the physical checks, the lab does the rest and the results are posted to e-Kesihatan," he said, adding that the RM80 fee is reasonable.
"This is about perception. Commercial operators have said they can get the tests done for between RM10-20. They must ask themselves, what sort of checks are they? And if they are comprehensive and trustworthy."
Nordin said e-Kesihatan checks for seven drugs, including morphine, cannabis and amphetamines, as well as a regular health check-up.
He said of the RM80, the company gets RM8 and Pos Malaysia RM2, while RM10 is for operating costs, RM35 go to the doctors and RM25 to laboratories.
"Commercial labs will charge between RM68 and RM81. We can charge less due to volume."
Nordin said Supremme Systems shoulders a huge liability as, if a bogus doctor is registered on its panel, it faces a fine of RM50,000, while the penalty for negligent misdiagnosis is 10 times Supremme Systems' fee per case. This penalty also applies if a driver cannot be certified within five working days.
"For systems breakdown, the penalty is RM150,000!" said Nordin.
He said the contract with the RTD is for five years and the company has no rights over the database which will eventually cover over one million drivers.
He added that while doctors who wish to be part of the scheme must have professional indemnity insurance, it does not mean Supremme Systems could not be vicariously liable in any lawsuit that is a result of an accident due to a misdiagnosed driver.
He admits e-Kesihatan is a work in progress.
"However concrete a system, there will still be some who slip through the cracks. We are working with the RTD to tighten these areas such as requiring follow-up checks on some drivers and tightening the chain of custody of samples at labs."