No decision on docs dispensing medicine

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has denied a report which said doctors would be prevented from dispensing medicine.
Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said the article, which was published on the front page of a local English daily on Saturday, was not true.
"We have not made any decision at all. We are conducting a study, but it is only at a preliminary stage," he said.
The report said a pilot project on the separation of functions between doctors' clinics and pharmacies would be launched by the Health Ministry.
It also said that the pilot project would be launched at selected major towns, with the ministry closely monitoring the strengths and weaknesses of the system before implementing it nationwide.
Liow said while the Ministry was considering the request by pharmacists, the study had yet to be completed and a pilot project might not even be launched if the findings were not encouraging.
"If we find that people will be affected (negatively), we might not even carry out the pilot project," he said.
He added that he wanted to meet up with doctors and pharmacists to understand more about the issue.
"But most importantly, at the end of the day, the people must enjoy good medical services," he said.
Liow was speaking to reporters after visiting the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital on Saturday.

TB a problem once again

NST: SERI ISKANDAR: Tuberculosis (TB), a killer disease in the country in the 1950s and 1960s, is once again posing a threat.
There has been an increase in the number of TB cases in the last 10 years.
Malaysian Association of Prevention of Tuberculosis president Datuk Seri Yeop Junior Yeop Adlan said this was despite the government's success in implementing the national TB control programme which brought the number of cases down to below 100 for every 100,000 people.
"However, in the last 10 years, the number of cases has been increasing, with 59.8 cases recorded for every 100,000 people in 1994 and 62.6 cases in 2006," he said at the opening of the state-level World TB Day here yesterday.
Also present were Perak deputy health director (public health) Datin Dr Ranjit Kaur and Perak Tengah district health department medical officer Dr S. Elangovan.
The theme of this year's event, "I am stopping TB", is in line with the World Health Organisation's vision of eliminating TB by the year 2050.
Yeop Junior, who is also MAPTB Perak branch chairman, said that an average of 16,000 cases had been recorded yearly.
Among the factors believed to have contributed to the increase are medical staff who fail to diagnose TB in patients seeking treatment for continuous cough, a symptom of the disease.
They have since been instructed to conduct a thorough examination if a patient complains of a week-long cough.

Move will not necessarily cost patients more

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: Contrary to public perception, separating the doctor's function as a healer and as a provider of medicine will not necessarily cost patients more.
Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society president John Chang Chiew Pheng said this was because consumers would have the choice of drugs.
"Many doctors usually dispense the more branded and expensive medicines simply because they get incentives and bonuses from the drug companies.
"When the consumers get their medication and make up their minds whether to get branded or generic drugs, they end up saving money.
"The Poisons Act 1952 allows for doctors to dispense drugs because there were hardly any pharmacists when the law was passed," he said.
There are now roughly 5,000 pharmacists and 13 pharmacy schools in the country that produce an average of 600 graduates every year.
Chang also said that with serious risks to health due to improper medication, it made better sense for patients to get their drugs from a pharmacist who would have spent four years acquiring the knowledge than from a doctor who had none.
"Doctors are only familiar with medicines that they often prescribe, not knowing adverse reactions and drug interactions. However, pharmacists are constantly in touch with the drugs industry," he said.
With the separation of functions between clinics and pharmacies, Malaysia will join the ranks of other developed countries around the world which separate the role of doctors and pharmacists.
In the last 30 years, Asian countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia have implemented the separation with varying degrees of success.
When South Korean health officials enforced the separation in 2000, tens of thousands of doctors took to the streets and forced clinics around the country to close for three days.
The various countries also experienced teething problems such as administrational confusion when charging corporate patients seeking treatment in panel clinics or claiming health insurance.
Separation laws in several countries also had loopholes, abused by pharmacists who were in cahoots with doctors for patient referrals in exchange for kickbacks.
All this, Chang admitted, could very well also happen in Malaysia if the separation was not closely enforced and scrutinised.

Doctors to be disallowed from dispensing medicines

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: Soon, doctors will not be allowed to dispense medicines. Doctors will only be allowed to prescribe medications but patients will have to get the medicines from pharmacies.
Currently, doctors diagnose the disease, prescribe the medicines and their own clinics dispense them.
For almost 20 years, pharmacists have been fighting for the "return" of their right to dispense medications but had been unsuccessful for various reasons.
A pilot project on the separation of functions between doctors' clinics and pharmacies will be launched by the Ministry of Health.
It is scheduled to be launched at selected major towns with the ministry closely monitoring the strength and weaknesses of the system before implementing it nationwide.
Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said the ministry was not able to implement this system earlier due to logistics problems, especially the shortage of pharmacists and pharmacies in the country.
"We also have to take into consideration the welfare of patients. If we have the separation, then patients must have easy accessibility to pharmacies to get their prescribed medications," he told the New Straits Times.
He said the ministry had conducted a detailed study, "Pharmacy and clinic Mapping" on various issues ranging from welfare of patients, facilities available and capability of pharmacies to meet the demand.
"We found that the logistics problem is still an issue and needs to be resolved as we do not want patients to be running around looking for pharmacies with the doctors' prescriptions," said Dr Ismail.
Furthermore, he said, the pharmacies should be able to provide quality care.
He said the ministry had been doing the study with various stakeholders, focusing on the spread of community pharmacies or pharmacy outlets in major towns, rural and remote areas.
Some 5,000 registered pharmacists are actively practising in some 1,600 pharmacies nationwide.
In 2004, there were only 3,927 registered pharmacists with about 1,540 retail pharmacies or one for every 16,445 persons.
Dr Ismail said the pilot project would be implemented in major towns based on the study where there were pharmacies near clinics.
"If the pilot project is successful, we will have to look into the existing laws to allow for the separation," he added.
India, South Korea and Taiwan have implemented the separation. Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society president John Chang Chiew Pheng said the ministry's move to conduct a pilot project was definitely a positive development which would enhance the level of healthcare delivery.
The separation, he added, would benefit patients as doctors could now focus on their clinical, diagnosing, counselling and prescription, while pharmacists could focus on educating patients on how best to optimise the usage of medicines prescribed.
Furthermore, Chang said, pharmacists could help patients choose between generic and branded drugs based on their financial situation.
"With commitment and determination we can overcome teething problems and patients can understand their medicines," he added.
He said if the government went ahead with the separation, then more pharmacies could be set up near clinics for easy accessibility to patients.

5.1 million to gain from Socso free check-up

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: The Social Security Organisation (Socso) will provide a one-time free medical check-up for contributors aged 35 and above.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, who announced this yesterday, said Socso hoped to provide more benefits to its 5.1 million contributors.
He also called on employers to notify Socso of injuries sustained by their workers so that the processing of compensation could be speeded up.
"We have trained more than 900 government doctors to carry out examinations for workers seeking compensation for injuries.
"At the same time, our panel doctors will help speed up rehabilitation of patients so that they can return to work as soon as possible," he said after a three-hour briefing by Socso officials at its headquarters in Jalan Ampang here.
Present were Dr Subramaniam's deputy, Datuk Noraini Ahmad, and ministry secretary-general Datuk Thomas George.
The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) and the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) welcomed the free medical check-up.
MMA president Datuk Dr Khoo Kah Lin said medical check-ups should be conducted more frequently with age.
"Just like a car, the older it gets the more frequent servicing it needs.
"Older people may require not only more frequent medical check-ups but more stringent ones, too. This can be costly," he said.
Dr Khoo said medical check-ups should be conducted from young so that abnormalities could be detected early.
He added that as people today were more health conscious, Socso could undertake more programmes to educate workers on health risks and remedies.
MTUC secretary-general G. Rajasekeran said Socso's free check-up was a good start.He also hoped Socso would make the free check-ups available more frequently to workers exposed to health hazards, such as those working in mines, mills, quarries and factories dealing with chemicals, electronics and asbestos.

No more fast food ads on kids’ TV shows

Star: PETALING JAYA: Children will now be fed a healthier diet of TV programmes.
Fast food advertisers have agreed not to place advertisements during children's programmes or sponsor such shows with immediate effect.
Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As) president Datuk Vincent Lee said new guidelines would set the standards of what could be advertised.
“It will encourage companies to develop and advertise foods we wish our children to consume more of,” he said in a statement here yesterday.
“A pre-vetting system will be introduced to ensure that only advertisements which meet the new standards make it to the television screens and inappropriate advertisements weeded out.”
Lee said fast food advertisers also pledged not to encourage commercials showing excessive food consumption or provide inaccurate or misleading information on nutritional value in any product.
Such commercials would also not imply that a product could replace a complete or balanced diet, he said.
According to the statement, the guidelines had been accepted by the Health Ministry, which also mandated the nutritional labelling of fast food.
Malaysian Advertisers Association president Peter Das said the advertising industry wanted to work with the Government in promoting a healthy lifestyle and diet.
“There is a clear consumer demand for healthy options to which the industry is increasingly responding,” he said.

Incentives for doctors working overtime

Star: PUTRAJAYA: The Cabinet has approved the Health Ministry’s proposal for incentive payments to be made to doctors and specialists working overtime and weekends.
Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said this would allow more elective surgeries to be held on Saturdays and more patients to seek treatment at certain health clinics after office hours.
“We already have these after-office hours services at 33 of our hospitals. The ministry decided to expand this to 16 health clinics so that non-critical patients can seek treatment at these places instead of coming to the emergency units at public hospitals,” he told reporters after chairing the post-Cabinet meeting here yesterday.
“It will also allow elective surgery to be conducted in 19 hospitals on Saturdays. These are among our measures to reduce the waiting time for patients from 45 minutes currently to 30 minutes. It will cost the ministry a total of RM19.3mil in allocation.”
On Feb 6, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican announced that doctors at selected clinics would be paid more than double or RM80 per hour in incentive payment for overtime while specialists would be paid RM200 per hour to work after office hours and on weekends.
Dr Ismail had said then that the proposal was pending approval from the Cabinet.
Liow said elective surgery on Saturdays were necessary because the number of operations had increased by 23% from 636,867 in 2002 to 782,514 in 2006.

Clinics to take load off emergency units

Star: PUTRAJAYA: Sixteen health clinics nationwide will start operating after office hours in a bid to lessen the number of patients at the emergency units in hospitals.
Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said these clinics, which see a lot of patients, would offer services from 5pm to 9.30pm.
"We already have these after office hours services at 33 of our hospitals. The ministry decided to expand this to the health clinics so that non-critical patients can seek treatment at these places, instead of coming to the emergency units at public hospitals.
"These are among our measures to reduce the waiting time for patients from 45 minutes currently to 30 minutes, which is our target.
"The Cabinet has also approved the ministry's proposal for doctors and specialists working on weekends to be paid incentives, and for those working overtime to have their fees increased from RM30 per hour currently to RM80," he told reporters Wednesday after chairing the post-Cabinet meeting here.
On Feb 6, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican had announced that doctors at selected clinics would be paid more than double or RM80 per hour in incentive payment while specialists would be paid RM200 per hour to work after office hours and on weekends.
This would allow them more time to serve the public and to conduct elective surgery from 8am to 1pm on Saturdays at 19 selected hospitals to reduce the backlog of cases.
Liow said elective surgery on Saturdays were necessary because the number of operations had increased by 23% from 636,867 in 2002 to 782,514 in 2006.
"This increase has forced our anaesthesiologists and surgeons to give priority to emergency cases. This has caused our non-critical patients to wait between one to six months for their surgery," he said, adding that this could lead to their conditions becoming more chronic and affecting their quality of life.
He said the ministry also planned to include more hospitals and clinics offering such services if this project proved to be successful.
"It will cost the ministry a total of RM19.3mil," he said.

Kidney Patients On The Rise

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 (Bernama) -- About 15,000 kidney patients underwent dialysis nationwide last year and the number is expected to increase to 20,000 by 2010, Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) head of nephrology Dr Ghazali Ahmad said today.
"So far,57 per cent of the chronic kidney disease cases are caused by diabetes and if not treated early, the patients may have to undergo dialysis," he told reporters after the launch of the World Kidney Day by HKL director Datuk Dr Zaininah Mohd Zain here.
Most kidney failure cases area caused by diabetes, said Dr Ghazali.
He advised the public to maintain balanced and nutritious diet to prevent diabetes, gout, and high blood pressure which are associated with kidney problems.
In her speech, Dr Zaininah said steps should be taken not only to treat kidney patients, but also to slow down the process of kidney failure to delay dialysis and prevent disease that increase the risks of kidney problems.
The annual World Kidney Day organised by the HKL Nephrology Department in collaboration with its Catering and Dietetic Department is aimed at raising public awareness in the prevention, detection, and treatment of kidney disease.

Promotions for house officers in govt hospitals

Star: PUTRAJAYA: At least 2,000 graduate house officers in government hospitals will get an automatic promotion to grade UD44 upon completion of their two-year housemanship in 2010.
They will be getting at least RM6,000 including allowances every month which is almost double what the present graduate house officers are getting.
At present, graduate house officers come under UD41 with a monthly income of RM3,768.39 including allowances. Most of them are stuck under the grade for at least six to seven years or more.
"This is a hefty jump," Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican announced at a press conference here on Wednesday.
He said the promotion exercise was expected to cost RM1.7mil annually.
Dr Ismail said at least 7,000 house officers under UD41 and UD44, who were appointed before 2008, would also get their long overdue promotions, which would cost RM9.8mil.
He said those who had been stuck under the grade for many years would however be placed under the higher scale of UD44.
"Hopefully, this promotion opportunity will indirectly encourage many doctors to remain in the civil service," he said, adding that at least 70% of young doctors under UD41 resigned to join the private sector.
The Health Ministry extended the housemanship from one year to two years in January following several complaints including the unsatisfactory quality of service.

University boost

Sun2Surf: PUTRAJAYA (Feb 12, 2008): Improving the standards of medical and healthcare programmes by ensuring qualified educators and quality students. This will be the catalyst to enhance the ranking of Malaysian universities, which has been sliding in the past few years.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said yesterday this is a key component in the government’s efforts to enhance the level of excellence of public universities, including instilling a high-performance culture, increasing transparency, and ensuring autonomy of university management.
To begin with, Mustapa said, Public Services director-general Tan Sri Ismail Adam will call for a meeting between Mustapa’s ministry and the Health Ministry soon to discuss outstanding matters.
These matters include the placement of medical students in government hospitals, the limited number of places in universities for medical programmes, and the involvement of academicians in tertiary lectures, hospital administration and clinical work.
"We want to find solutions that will meet and benefit the national agenda, not only those that serve the respective ministries’ objectives," Mustapa told a press conference after a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak at Najib’s office.
"We are happy that many issues have been resolved but there is a need to strengthen this relationship so that everything is seen from the context of national and global competitiveness."
The meeting was also attended by representatives from the PSD, Treasury, Economic Planning Unit, and the management of 20 public universities. Mustapa said the meeting, the first to look into issues on higher education and researches, also discussed last year’s Times Higher Education Supplement-Quacquarelli- Symonds (THES-QS) World University Rankings, which did not include any Malaysian university in the list of top 200 universities.
He said the government has laid out strategic plans to boost the universities’ rankings, including giving more allocations to universities for research purposes.
The meeting also discussed giving more financial autonomy to vice-chancellors, provided it is taken "with accountability and responsibility".
The VCs would have a freehand in running the universities financially and turning them into high-performance institutions.
However, for this to be realised, it will need the cabinet’s approval and amendments to the existing laws.
Mustapa said they also discussed the Financial Procedure Act in relation to the establishment of subsidiaries.
"If we want to form a subsidiary, we have to go to the Finance Ministry. This is a legal requirement.
Some procedures definitely need to be speeded up and bureaucracy minimised so that the plans can be executed smoothly," he said.

Move to improve education system in varsities

Star: PUTRAJAYA: The education system in Malaysia’s public universities must be improved with greater transparency and meritocracy, said Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed.
He said this was among the issues decided at the inaugural meeting of various government agencies and university representatives to further boost the performance of the universities.
“We will also continue with our earlier plan to create apex universities and give more autonomous power to universities with financial freedom to the vice-chancellors,” he told reporters after the meeting yesterday.
Mustapa said various government agencies would work together with the Higher Education Ministry to bring an overall improvement to public universities.
The aim is also to push up the world ranking of the country’s 22 local public universities.
He said that in principle, it was agreed that a few regulations and laws pertaining to universities would be amended to pave the way for the planned improvements, including the Financial Procedures Act.
“The amendments would be proposed to the Cabinet in due course,” said Mustapa.
He said that the plan would also include getting highly qualified lecturers, where merit would not be compromised.
Mustapa also said 50 participants from 42 countries would take part in the annual International Bahasa Melayu Oration Competition this year.
The participation this year is nearly double last year’s 23 participating countries, he said.

Stringent tests, labelling for new drugs, food

NST: PUTRAJAYA: All new food and pharmaceutical products will have to undergo stringent testing before they can be brought on the market.
Both local and foreign producers and manufacturers will have to obtain “pre-market approval” and have their products certified fit for sale.
The Health Ministry Food Safety and Quality Control division director Dr Abd Rahim Mohamad said under the new requirement, producers of food and pharmaceutical products will need to conduct an analysis on their goods and submit the findings.
They must list clearly any claims of benefit and function, as well as the ingredients, nutrients and additives in the product.
Products will not be allowed on the shelves until they meet the requirements, he said.
And once a product has been approved, it will be given a serial number for easy monitoring.
Under the pre-market approval system, proper labelling of products will be emphasised and misleading product names will be rejected. For example, a biscuit cannot be called “Biskuat", implying that eating it would make one strong (kuat).
“This new system will curb label abuse and rampant false advertising,” Dr Abd Rahim said, adding that this would also ensure that product labels did not breach the Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985.
He said all labels must provide details of the producers and cannot make exaggerated claims, like “a good diet begins with X” and “drink X for a healthier lifestyle".
Claims that a certain product is recommended for those with diabetes, cancer, hypertension and kidney problems are also not allowed.
And producers cannot claim that their product is above the rest, by saying, for example, “X does not contain boric acid", as this negative remark suggests that competitors’ products contain the substance.
Dr Abd Rahim said Thailand and Indonesia had fully implemented this system and Malaysia would do it in stages.
“There are so many products being introduced. For starters, we will focus on children’s products, including milk formula, and perishable goods and products targeted at senior citizens,” he told a media dialogue on food safety and quality yesterday.

Tailgating for a faster drive

NST: KLANG: Some Malaysians have a dirty habit: moving in behind a passing ambulance with its siren blaring so they can take advantage of the freed-up space for a faster, smoother drive.
What these people do not realise is that their bad habit could cause a problem.
An average of two Malaysian Red Crescent Society ambulances are involved in accidents every month in Selangor alone because of the actions of these motorists.
It is taking a huge toll on the resources of the charitable organisation.
Selangor Red Crescent Society deputy chairman Venu- kopalan Chellathurai said more than half of the organisation’s maintenance bills for the six ambulances it operates were for “body work” after being hit from behind.
“Of the RM29,000 spent on repairs last year, almost RM15,000 was used for body work. That’s a huge sum for a non-governmental organisation.”
Inconsiderate motorists who tailgate ambulances responding to emergencies were the main culprits.
“They are oblivious to the danger to themselves, the ambulance crew and patient either in the ambulance or at the scene, due to the delay any accident will cause,” said Venukopalan.
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Noel Silas Savarimuthu said in most instances, the culprits did not even bother to stop.
“There is little we can do if we are responding to an emergency; people’s lives are at stake and every second counts.”
He said there had been instances of EMTs being injured when their ambulance was hit from behind by other vehicles.
The society also bemoaned the fact that motorists did not follow the rules when it came to emergency lanes.
The fact that motorists used the emergency lane as “just another lane” during traffic jams, coupled with some who ignored sirens on emergency vehicles, added to the response time for EMTs.
The society believed the problem was in education and enforcement.
Venukopalan said the right response to an ambulance with its siren blaring and beacons flashing was not addressed in the syllabus of local driving tests or current road laws.
“Even the use of sirens and beacons, once reserved for the police, Fire and Rescue Department and ambulances, seems to have been extended to commercial vehicles such as hearses, trucks and buses.”
Venukopalan said the subject should be introduced to future generations of drivers while they are in school.
“The subject should be broached during primary school, reinforced while they study for driving tests and enforced strictly by the enforcement authorities.”

Unregistered clinic: Doctor’s wife files application to reduce fine

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: The wife of a doctor who is in jail after failing to settle a RM120,000 fine has filed a revision to reduce the amount.
Norliza Hassan, 44, has also applied for her husband to be released on a good behaviour bond.
Her husband, Dr Basmullah Yusoff, was found guilty of operating his clinic, Pusat Perubatan Al Hilal Sdn Bhd in Kampung Pandan, which was not registered.
He became the first doctor in the country to be convicted under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 Act for operating an unregistered clinic.
He was fined RM120,000 or three months’ jail. He could not raise the amount and has been serving his sentence at the Kajang Prison since Jan 19.
Norliza, a canteen worker, made the application through her counsel Karpal Singh at the High Court registry yesterday.
She named the public prosecutor as the respondent.
Karpal said he had filed a notice of urgency for the application to be heard tomorrow.
In her supporting affidavit, Norliza claimed her husband was unrepresented and was not informed of the maximum fine.
She said the Sessions Court should have informed him of the hefty fine so that he could seek legal aid.
Norliza also claimed that her husband, in a written mitigation, had stated he was unable to raise the RM120,000 fine or pay it in instalments.
Norliza, who was present during the filing, said an enforcement officer from the Health Ministry had posed as a patient before nabbing her husband.
“My husband was treated like a criminal, seeing the number of enforcement officers who raided the clinic,” she said, adding that Dr Basmullah had been operating the clinic for 19 years.
Norliza claimed that her husband did not know the requirement of the Health Ministry to have the clinic registered.
Former Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek had appealed to doctors not to blame him for Dr Basmullah’s jail sentence.
He had said the legislation was to weed out bogus doctors who posed a threat to public health and safety.
“I wanted to ensure that genuine doctors were registered. My paramount concern was patients’ safety.
“We are talking about people’s health and lives,” he had said.
He claimed the ministry had given ample time for doctors to register their clinics.
Under the Act, Dr Basmullah was liable to a maximum fine of RM500,000.

Health department steps up checks on foodstuff

Star: JOHOR BARU: The state health department has intensified inspections in a bid to ensure that all festive foodstuff sold is safe for consumption.
An operation, codenamed Ops Shu 2008, began on Jan 24 targeting supermarkets, mini markets and sundry shops in Johor and will go on till the Chinese New Year.
Up to Jan 31, the department had checked 116 premises and sent food samples for analysis.
Johor health director Dr Marzukhi Md Isa said 17 of the 77 samples tested for boric acid were positive.
He said the foodstuff included yellow noodles, koay teow, Nyonya kuih and bak chang and the people responsible would be charged for preparing or selling food containing substances injurious to health.
If convicted, a person can be fined not more than RM100,000 or jailed for up to 10 years or both.
“We also sent 22 samples for beta agonist tests but the results have yet to be finalised,” he told a press conference at his office here yesterday.
He said imported products such as fruits, mushroom, waxed duck and seaweed would be tested for pesticides, colouring, preservatives and heavy metals.
Dr Marzukhi said his officers also seized 620 cans of foodstuff worth some RM78,000 from the premises.
“The canned foods seized were dented, expired or were found to have labelling problems,” he said, adding these products would be destroyed.
Dr Marzukhi said the department would also step up checks on the cleanliness of premises selling food, including restaurants and hawker centres.

Must-do stint for ‘beauty docs’

Star: PUTRAJAYA: Doctors who practise aesthetic medicine will have to go through a training module to ensure they are suitably qualified. And it could take up to three years.
The Health Ministry will soon draw up a training module for aesthetic medicine and doctors who undergo the programme will be acknowledged as specialists.
Its director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said the ministry and The Academy of Medicine Malaysia did not recognise the field as a sub-speciality now.
“While this is pending, we will not allow a person to call himself an aesthetic specialist,” he told reporters yesterday.
And clinics that use the word “aesthetic” on their signboards must remove it. They could, however, include it in their list of services, he added.
“All doctors have to undergo this three year training locally and overseas before they can claim to be a sub specialist,” Dr Ismail said.
He also revealed a case where a doctor underwent a five-day course and received a certificate.
An additional five days gained him a diploma, he added.
“We have characters like that in our midst,” he said.
From now on, doctors who offer aesthetic procedures must produce proof of their training and qualifications to the ministry’s medical practice division before they are allowed to carry out the procedures.
Currently, 60 establishments have applied for the approval.
“Our role is not to be restrictive but it is our responsibility to the public. Patient safety overrides everything else,” Dr Ismail added.

Doctor chose to go to jail

NST: PUTRAJAYA: The doctor who is behind bars for three months for failing to pay a RM120,000 fine over his unregistered clinic preferred jail to paying the amount in instalments.
Dr Basmullah Yusom declined the Health Ministry's offer to stay out of jail.
Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said the offer was made to the doctor by the ministry's prosecuting officer.
"It's not that we do not care for doctors or are unsympathetic to them," he said when asked about the strong feelings within the medical fraternity over Dr Basmullah's imprisonment.
Dr Ismail said it was time the ministry put the facts straight on the doctor's case.
"I want the medical fraternity and public to know what exactly happened."
He said action against the Al Hilal Polyclinic and Dr Basmullah was based on a complaint from a legal firm in May 2006.
Among others, he said, the complainant demanded to know the status of the clinic.
"Investigations confirmed that the clinic was unregistered. About the same period, ministry enforcement teams raided unregistered clinics owned by businessmen in Seremban, Klang and other towns and sealed them," he said.
Former Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek brought the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 (Act 586) into force on May 1, 2006.
Doctors did not want the act passed especially as they could become "criminals" if prosecuted by the ministry for specific offences.
The ministry has so far approved the registration of 6,322 clinics, 1,439 dental clinics and 51 clinics which offer aesthetic procedures.
Dr Ismail said this spoke volumes of the support from the majority of doctors.
He said Dr Basmullah could have registered his clinic after his clinic was sealed on July 11, last year but did not do so.
"Despite the sealing, Dr Basmullah did not take the initiative to register. He also chose not to be represented in court. He pleaded guilty to the charge."
He said the ministry viewed the matter as a landmark case in efforts to regulate the medical care sector.
"If Dr Basmullah feels he has been harshly sentenced by the Sessions Court, he has the right to appeal to a higher court," he added.
Dr Basmullah, 44, pleaded guilty to operating the Al-Hilal Medical Centre Sdn Bhd at 55, Jalan 5/76B, Desa Pandan off Jalan Kampung Pandan since 1998. The father of eight, who claimed he could not raise the fine, is serving his sentence at the Kajang Prison.

Doctors cannot use 'aesthetic' on signboards

NST: PUTRAJAYA: A rose by any other name may smell just as sweet but the saying certainly does not apply to Malaysian doctors.
The Health Ministry has decided not to allow medical practitioners to use the word "aesthetic" on signboards to describe themselves.
The most they can do is list down aesthetic procedures on their signboards -- after approval from the ministry.
To date, 60 doctors have applied to practise aesthetic procedures with the ministry yet to decide on the matter.
Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said the term "aesthetic specialist" was misleading as "there is no such entity in the medical field".
"Clinics that offer such services must produce evidence that the doctor has specialised training that tallies with requirements set by the ministry's medical practice division.
"If a doctor meets the standards and has an accredited certification, then we will allow him to offer the services. I must stress that doctors' priority when treating patients is their safety. The ministry will not compromise on this."
Dr Ismail said doctors must undergo a three-year sub-speciality course before operating on patients.
"Only then are they actually qualified to perform aesthetic surgeries," he told a press conference.
He said patients had the right to choose the mode of treatment or procedures to be used for the purpose of improving their physical appearance and general well-being.
The decision comes in the wake of discussions between ministry officials and the Malaysian Medical Council, Malaysian Dental Council, Malaysian Medical Association, the Academy of Medicine Malaysia, Malaysian Association of Plastics, Aesthetic and Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons, Society for Anti-Aging and Aesthetic Medicine Malaysia and Malaysian Society of Aesthetic Medicine.
The meeting was held following an increase in the number of botched cosmetic surgeries performed by unqualified people.
Dr Ismail said the meeting also decided to develop a structured training module for aesthetic practice.
"The relevant societies have expressed their willingness to develop the module.
"This will be beneficial to local medical practitioners interested in aesthetic practice by serving as an alternative to courses commonly conducted by foreign aesthetic experts," he added.
He was aware of doctors who attended a three- to five- day course on aesthetic procedures before operating on patients.
Dr Ismail said problems over terminology used to describe doctors handling the aesthetic aspect of health would be resolved with the tabling of the Cosmetology Act in parliament later this year.
On the fate of the orthopaedic surgeon who operated on the wife of Labuan MP Datin Fatimah Wan Chik, Dr Ismail said he had been directed to submit his qualifications to the ministry.
"He has yet to submit them. We will have to ascertain if he had the proper qualifications and competency to perform cosmetic surgeries."
He said checks were also being conducted on whether the doctors's clinic in Klang had a licence to be used for such surgery.
Fatimah, who underwent surgery for removal of eyebags, a liposuction and a tummy tuck on Jan 9, is still in a coma at a private hospital here.

Aesthetic medicine to be officially recognised

Star: PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry will draw up a training module for aesthetic medicine that will see medical practitioners who undertake the programme being acknowledged as specialists.
Its director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said currently the ministry and The Academy of Medicine Malaysia did not recognise the field as a sub-speciality.
He said stakeholders including professional bodies and associations would draw up a proposal to be presented to the ministry.
They included the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC), Malaysian Dental Council, Malaysia Medical Association, The Academy of Medicine Malaysia, Malaysian Association of Plastics, Aesthetic and Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons and Malaysian Society of Aesthetic Medicine.
A committee at the ministry would look into the recommendations.
"So, while this is pending, we will not allow a person to call himself an aesthetic specialist," he told reporters on Thursday.
"With the training module, it becomes a recognised sub-speciality with a three-year training scheme. All sub-specialists have to undergo this training locally and overseas before they can come back and claim to be sub-specialists." Dr Ismail said there were cases where the practitioner went for a five-day course and received a certificate. An additional five days gained him a diploma.
"We have characters like that in our midst," he said.
Dr Ismail added that with immediate effect, medical practitioners who currently offered aesthetic practices were required to produce evidence of their training and qualifications to the ministry's medical practice division before being allowed to carry out the procedures.