Watch on errant hospitals

Star: PETALING JAYA: Private hospitals will be monitored to ensure that they do not put patients through unnecessary procedures just because they have medical insurance, said Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican.
“The ministry will continuously direct private hospitals, managed care organisations (MCO), insurance companies and other interested parties to ensure that the cost of healthcare is reasonable, detailed and transparent.
“This will help patients make informed decisions on getting treatment as they will be more aware of the charges that will be incurred,” he said in a statement here yesterday.
He said the ministry would also look at ways to address the discrepancies between charges for self-paying patients and those with insurance policies as this problem had also contributed to overall healthcare costs.
He said the problem was also compounded by some private hospitals being pressured by their shareholders to charge more to fulfil their key performance index.
His statement came following a meeting last Friday with the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia, Malaysian Medical Asso­ciation, Malaysian Medical Council, hospital chief executive officers, private hospital and MCO representatives, insurance companies and several healthcare professional groups and independent professionals.
“The purpose of the meeting was to explore ways of curbing increasing private healthcare costs,” said Dr Ismail, adding that several points were agreed upon, including making insurance policy holders aware of the medical coverage they were entitled to.
Hospitals, he said, must also inform patients about all professional and potential charges before they were admitted or treated.
He said it was also agreed that MCOs must not interfere with the clinical judgment management of patients by medical practitioners, including by general medical practitioners.