Herbal way to promote health tourism
MALACCA: Malaysia wants to promote health tourism using traditional herbs, said Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Mohamad Taha Arif.
“We are exploring ways to introduce herbal baths and traditional massage to Western tourists,” he said.
“Health tourism is not only confined to seeking Western medical treatment but it is also for a healthy person who wants to try out traditional methods,” he said.
Thailand had been successful in wooing Western tourists through its traditional massage, spa and diet, he said after opening the 16th Malaysia-Thailand Goodwill Committee meeting at the Golden Legacy Hotel here yesterday.
Also present was Inspector-General in the Thai Public Health Ministry, M.L. Somchai Chakrabhand.
Dr Mohamad Taha said the ministry would look for ways to promote health tourism, particularly in Kelantan, which shares borders with Thailand.
“We will look at safety practices and register those who are involved and conduct research,” he said.
Malaysian Medical News: keeping you up to date with news sourced from various online sites, put in one place for your convenience, with a searchable archive
Thursday, July 31, 2003
Monday, July 28, 2003
CNN.com - Ditch chopsticks, Malaysians told - Jul. 27, 2003
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Chinese diners in Malaysia are being urged to ditch centuries of gastronomic tradition and ditch their chopsticks in favor of serving spoons.
Health Minister Datuk Chau Jui Ming said diners enjoying the favored pastime of communal dining should avoid dipping in with their chopsticks in order to stop the spread of infectious diseases like SARS.
"Chinese should kick the habit of using their own chopsticks to pick up food," the Star newpaper quoted Chua as saying.
He said other types of restaurants provided common serving spoons for their dishes, greatly reducing the risk of diners spreading disease via their saliva.
The clatter of chopsticks diving into shared dishes has been a feature of Chinese dining for centuries.
According to some historians chopsticks first emerged as an eating utensil about 5,000 years ago, starting off as rudimentary twigs.
Among those thought to have influenced the development of chopsticks is the scholar Confucious, who lived from 551 to 479 BC.
A strict vegetarian Confucious said knives would remind people of slaughterhouses and were too violent for use at the dining table.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Chinese diners in Malaysia are being urged to ditch centuries of gastronomic tradition and ditch their chopsticks in favor of serving spoons.
Health Minister Datuk Chau Jui Ming said diners enjoying the favored pastime of communal dining should avoid dipping in with their chopsticks in order to stop the spread of infectious diseases like SARS.
"Chinese should kick the habit of using their own chopsticks to pick up food," the Star newpaper quoted Chua as saying.
He said other types of restaurants provided common serving spoons for their dishes, greatly reducing the risk of diners spreading disease via their saliva.
The clatter of chopsticks diving into shared dishes has been a feature of Chinese dining for centuries.
According to some historians chopsticks first emerged as an eating utensil about 5,000 years ago, starting off as rudimentary twigs.
Among those thought to have influenced the development of chopsticks is the scholar Confucious, who lived from 551 to 479 BC.
A strict vegetarian Confucious said knives would remind people of slaughterhouses and were too violent for use at the dining table.
Saturday, July 26, 2003
'Say no to sex if husband has Aids'
KUALA LUMPUR - Women in Malaysia should be allowed to refuse sex if they know their husbands suffer from HIV, said a women's affairs minister.
'There have been cases of wives being forced to have sex with their husbands although they realise they run the risk of being infected with HIV,' Datuk Sharizat Abdul Jalil, Women and Family Development Minister, said.
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She said her ministry was organising programmes to educate wives about their right to refuse sex, and their husbands had to accept and respect the decision.
Malaysian Aids Council president Marina Mahathir said religious leaders in mainly-Muslim Malaysia should support the proposal.
She said: 'Women are not considered as being in the high-risk group but they are subjected to Aids by various means, including contracting it from their husbands.
'The problem is that our culture does not allow wives to say no to sex and this ought to change.'
Datuk Sharizat said Health Ministry data showed that three new Aids cases were reported daily last year.
'The reported number of HIV infections among women has increased by 35 per cent from 2001 to last year. This is a cause for worry,' she said.
The ministry is willing to provide funds for the Malaysian Aids Council to publish booklets in Tamil and Mandarin on Aids, she said. -- AFP, New Straits Times
KUALA LUMPUR - Women in Malaysia should be allowed to refuse sex if they know their husbands suffer from HIV, said a women's affairs minister.
'There have been cases of wives being forced to have sex with their husbands although they realise they run the risk of being infected with HIV,' Datuk Sharizat Abdul Jalil, Women and Family Development Minister, said.
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She said her ministry was organising programmes to educate wives about their right to refuse sex, and their husbands had to accept and respect the decision.
Malaysian Aids Council president Marina Mahathir said religious leaders in mainly-Muslim Malaysia should support the proposal.
She said: 'Women are not considered as being in the high-risk group but they are subjected to Aids by various means, including contracting it from their husbands.
'The problem is that our culture does not allow wives to say no to sex and this ought to change.'
Datuk Sharizat said Health Ministry data showed that three new Aids cases were reported daily last year.
'The reported number of HIV infections among women has increased by 35 per cent from 2001 to last year. This is a cause for worry,' she said.
The ministry is willing to provide funds for the Malaysian Aids Council to publish booklets in Tamil and Mandarin on Aids, she said. -- AFP, New Straits Times
Friday, July 25, 2003
TH Group branches into healthcare with acquisition of hospital
KLSE main board company TH Group Bhd (THG), which is into plantations, contracting services and information technology-related investments, will move into a fourth core business, healthcare, with the acquisition of the Nilai Cancer Institute (NCI), the first private oncology hospital in Malaysia.
THG will acquire a 90.57% equity stake in Asiaprise Biotech Sdn Bhd, which owns the NCI, for RM38.95mil, to be paid in part by cash (RM6.35mil) and the rest through the issuance of 29.64mil new TH Group shares at a five-day weighted average price of RM1.10 each. The agreement for the remaining 9.43% equity interest in Asiaprise will be signed later.
“Although THG has been involved in life sciences for over two years, it has been as an investor, not owner,” Dr Kim Tan, founder of ABSB, told reporters after signing the conditional sale and purchase agreement with THG in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
From left: Lai Lin Thai, TH Group chairman Abu Bakar Abdul Karim and Dr Kim Tan
The healthcare industry in Malaysia, valued at RM900mil, is expected to grow to RM1.2bil by 2006, while revenue from health tourism to rise to RM390mil this year and to RM2bil in 2007.
THG group managing director Lei Lin Thai said THG's move into the healthcare sector was after carefully planned and was synergistic with the group's investments in the technology sector.
He added that returns could only be expected after five years, common for the life sciences industry.
The NCI, set up in 1998 with an initial investment of RM20mil, would see RM28mil – expected to be a mix of equity and debt – pumped in as part of its expansion plan, Tan said. He added that the research and treatment-based hospital was operating almost at maximum capacity.
THG, which obtains around 50% of its revenue from its oil palm plantations, mainly in Sabah, also provides timber extraction services, its latest project being a 145,000ha land-clearing job in Kalimantan Timur, Indonesia, began early this year.
KLSE main board company TH Group Bhd (THG), which is into plantations, contracting services and information technology-related investments, will move into a fourth core business, healthcare, with the acquisition of the Nilai Cancer Institute (NCI), the first private oncology hospital in Malaysia.
THG will acquire a 90.57% equity stake in Asiaprise Biotech Sdn Bhd, which owns the NCI, for RM38.95mil, to be paid in part by cash (RM6.35mil) and the rest through the issuance of 29.64mil new TH Group shares at a five-day weighted average price of RM1.10 each. The agreement for the remaining 9.43% equity interest in Asiaprise will be signed later.
“Although THG has been involved in life sciences for over two years, it has been as an investor, not owner,” Dr Kim Tan, founder of ABSB, told reporters after signing the conditional sale and purchase agreement with THG in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
From left: Lai Lin Thai, TH Group chairman Abu Bakar Abdul Karim and Dr Kim Tan
The healthcare industry in Malaysia, valued at RM900mil, is expected to grow to RM1.2bil by 2006, while revenue from health tourism to rise to RM390mil this year and to RM2bil in 2007.
THG group managing director Lei Lin Thai said THG's move into the healthcare sector was after carefully planned and was synergistic with the group's investments in the technology sector.
He added that returns could only be expected after five years, common for the life sciences industry.
The NCI, set up in 1998 with an initial investment of RM20mil, would see RM28mil – expected to be a mix of equity and debt – pumped in as part of its expansion plan, Tan said. He added that the research and treatment-based hospital was operating almost at maximum capacity.
THG, which obtains around 50% of its revenue from its oil palm plantations, mainly in Sabah, also provides timber extraction services, its latest project being a 145,000ha land-clearing job in Kalimantan Timur, Indonesia, began early this year.
Asia Times - Malaysia pesticide ban could be reversed
"Environmentalists told me last year that the long battle to ban paraquat has been won," Anggamah said, referring to a government announcement last August that paraquat will be banned in 2005. "We were all overjoyed." But the battle to ban paraquat is far from over.
Since the government decision was made, plantation companies and agro-chemical giants such as Syngenta have launched a campaign to get the ban reversed. They have importuned the media, plantation workers, their trade union, fruit growers and rice farmers to join forces with big business to revoke the ban.
Anggamah said: "I think it [the ban] is a lost cause."
This month, about 30 rice farmers in Kepala Batas in Penang state staged a demonstration against the paraquat ban. They claimed, in a memorandum to the government, to represent 17,000 rice farmers and argued that paraquat is cheap, effective and proven.
They quoted a now-famous Syngenta phrase attributed to John McGillivray, general manager of the giant's local unit Syngenta Prop Protection, "Paraquat is a dream product."
But "the farmers fail to mention that paraquat is a dangerous poison, not only to users but also to the environment and to everyone in the food chain", said Irene Fernandez, director of the non-government Tenaganita group.
Nevertheless, the farmers represent a powerful political force - influential enough to revoke the ban especially in an election year such as now.
============
Is paraquat coming back????
"Environmentalists told me last year that the long battle to ban paraquat has been won," Anggamah said, referring to a government announcement last August that paraquat will be banned in 2005. "We were all overjoyed." But the battle to ban paraquat is far from over.
Since the government decision was made, plantation companies and agro-chemical giants such as Syngenta have launched a campaign to get the ban reversed. They have importuned the media, plantation workers, their trade union, fruit growers and rice farmers to join forces with big business to revoke the ban.
Anggamah said: "I think it [the ban] is a lost cause."
This month, about 30 rice farmers in Kepala Batas in Penang state staged a demonstration against the paraquat ban. They claimed, in a memorandum to the government, to represent 17,000 rice farmers and argued that paraquat is cheap, effective and proven.
They quoted a now-famous Syngenta phrase attributed to John McGillivray, general manager of the giant's local unit Syngenta Prop Protection, "Paraquat is a dream product."
But "the farmers fail to mention that paraquat is a dangerous poison, not only to users but also to the environment and to everyone in the food chain", said Irene Fernandez, director of the non-government Tenaganita group.
Nevertheless, the farmers represent a powerful political force - influential enough to revoke the ban especially in an election year such as now.
============
Is paraquat coming back????
Private sector may face reverse effect: Sabah, Malaysia -- News Headlines
Papar: The Sabah Pharmaceutical Society fears the move to have newly-registered pharmacists serve the Government for three years would have a reverse effect on the private sector.
Its President, Chung Ke Chun, said with the new ruling taking effect tentatively early next year, there would be an acute shortage of pharmacists in the private sector for the next four years.
“In a few years to come, there will be no new pharmacists coming into the job market as no more new graduates will be filling up posts.
“Subsequently, it will slow down the opening of a community pharmacy or retail pharmacies around the country,” he said here, Wednesday.
Chung feels the shortage is inevitable given that the Government will absorb all new pharmacists into the public sector for a three-year housemanship before they are eligible for registration with the Pharmacy Board.
Nevertheless, the association supports the Government’s move as they understand and recognise the reason why the Government is introducing the compulsory service to provide good pharmaceutical care to patients.
“We also agree with the Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng that the compulsory service would make pharmacists more competent which definitely will help them in their future career in the pharmacy field,” said Chung.
“They would gain priceless experience in many areas which are not available to them in the private sector such as in regulatory, community (healthcare) and clinical pharmacy (fields), among others.”
To a question 0n why pharmacists appear to shy away from the public sector, Chung said this had to do with the private sector offering better remuneration.
“Low pay is one of the reasons why a majority of pharmacists would favour the private sector which pays much better.
“So the only way to make them serve longer in the public sector is by imposing the compulsory service. Then the pharmacists will be sent to smaller towns and districts to serve,” he asserted.
On Tuesday, Chua announced that the Cabinet gave its approval last month to amend the Registration of Pharmacists Act 1951 to set a new ruling which would take effect next year after the proposed amendments are tabled at the next parliamentary sitting.
Under the existing law, a pharmacy graduate must undergo a year’s housemanship in an institution recognised by the Pharmacy Board before he can be eligible to register with the board.
Of the 3,234 pharmacists practising in the country, only 583 or 18 per cent are employed in the public sector.
Papar: The Sabah Pharmaceutical Society fears the move to have newly-registered pharmacists serve the Government for three years would have a reverse effect on the private sector.
Its President, Chung Ke Chun, said with the new ruling taking effect tentatively early next year, there would be an acute shortage of pharmacists in the private sector for the next four years.
“In a few years to come, there will be no new pharmacists coming into the job market as no more new graduates will be filling up posts.
“Subsequently, it will slow down the opening of a community pharmacy or retail pharmacies around the country,” he said here, Wednesday.
Chung feels the shortage is inevitable given that the Government will absorb all new pharmacists into the public sector for a three-year housemanship before they are eligible for registration with the Pharmacy Board.
Nevertheless, the association supports the Government’s move as they understand and recognise the reason why the Government is introducing the compulsory service to provide good pharmaceutical care to patients.
“We also agree with the Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng that the compulsory service would make pharmacists more competent which definitely will help them in their future career in the pharmacy field,” said Chung.
“They would gain priceless experience in many areas which are not available to them in the private sector such as in regulatory, community (healthcare) and clinical pharmacy (fields), among others.”
To a question 0n why pharmacists appear to shy away from the public sector, Chung said this had to do with the private sector offering better remuneration.
“Low pay is one of the reasons why a majority of pharmacists would favour the private sector which pays much better.
“So the only way to make them serve longer in the public sector is by imposing the compulsory service. Then the pharmacists will be sent to smaller towns and districts to serve,” he asserted.
On Tuesday, Chua announced that the Cabinet gave its approval last month to amend the Registration of Pharmacists Act 1951 to set a new ruling which would take effect next year after the proposed amendments are tabled at the next parliamentary sitting.
Under the existing law, a pharmacy graduate must undergo a year’s housemanship in an institution recognised by the Pharmacy Board before he can be eligible to register with the board.
Of the 3,234 pharmacists practising in the country, only 583 or 18 per cent are employed in the public sector.
Thursday, July 24, 2003
Siti Hasmah conferred honorary doctorate
PENANG: Datin Seri Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali has been conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in conjunction with its 32nd convocation.
Dr Siti Hasmah, the second recipient of the honorary doctorate after consumer activist Datuk Dr Anwar Fazal, will receive it from Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Fauziah Tengku Abdul Rashid, who is also USM chancellor, on Aug 7.
USM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said she was awarded the honorary doctorate for her significant contribution in helping to promote health among women, family planning, and reading among the adult population and in educating the younger generation to avoid drugs.
More from: The Star
PENANG: Datin Seri Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali has been conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in conjunction with its 32nd convocation.
Dr Siti Hasmah, the second recipient of the honorary doctorate after consumer activist Datuk Dr Anwar Fazal, will receive it from Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Fauziah Tengku Abdul Rashid, who is also USM chancellor, on Aug 7.
USM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said she was awarded the honorary doctorate for her significant contribution in helping to promote health among women, family planning, and reading among the adult population and in educating the younger generation to avoid drugs.
More from: The Star
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
e.sinchew-i.com: Cancers More Prevalent Among Chinese?
MELAKA (Wed): The occurrence of cancers is highest among the Chinese and this is believed to have something to do with the fact that Chinese mainly live in cities and towns while other races mostly live in rural areas.
A cancer specialist said during an interview with Sin Chew Daily, that the national cancer report released by the Ministry of Health recently was the first comprehensive report on the occurrence of cancers in Malaysia. Prior to that, comprehensive statistics on cancers were non-existent in the country.
The report was compiled from data collected from government hospitals, the National Registration Department and private practitioners.
The specialist pointed out that generally, only about 45% of all fatalities in Malaysia are certified by medical doctors while the remaining 55% are documented by non-medical personnel, including the police or penghulu (village chieftains), etc.
Meanwhile, he believed that due to inconvenience in rural areas, a lot of villagers do not seek medical attention and are unaware of the presence of cancers they have contracted. Some of the cancer patients pass away without leaving behind any medical record and have not been included in the statistics.
On the contrary, the Chinese living in urban areas enjoy better medical facilities and are more ready to seek medical attention whenever they fall ill.
He believed those are the major factors contributing to the relatively high occurrence of cancers among the Chinese.
MELAKA (Wed): The occurrence of cancers is highest among the Chinese and this is believed to have something to do with the fact that Chinese mainly live in cities and towns while other races mostly live in rural areas.
A cancer specialist said during an interview with Sin Chew Daily, that the national cancer report released by the Ministry of Health recently was the first comprehensive report on the occurrence of cancers in Malaysia. Prior to that, comprehensive statistics on cancers were non-existent in the country.
The report was compiled from data collected from government hospitals, the National Registration Department and private practitioners.
The specialist pointed out that generally, only about 45% of all fatalities in Malaysia are certified by medical doctors while the remaining 55% are documented by non-medical personnel, including the police or penghulu (village chieftains), etc.
Meanwhile, he believed that due to inconvenience in rural areas, a lot of villagers do not seek medical attention and are unaware of the presence of cancers they have contracted. Some of the cancer patients pass away without leaving behind any medical record and have not been included in the statistics.
On the contrary, the Chinese living in urban areas enjoy better medical facilities and are more ready to seek medical attention whenever they fall ill.
He believed those are the major factors contributing to the relatively high occurrence of cancers among the Chinese.
Ministry hopes to handle hiring of foreign doctors: "
KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry hopes to take over the process of recruiting foreign contract doctors, its minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng said.
“I am not quite happy at the speed in which we have been recruiting these doctors and I have directed the ministry to discuss with the Public Service Commission (PSC) the possibility of letting us recruit the doctors ourselves,” he said.
Speaking to reporters after opening the ministry’s annual health dialogue here yesterday, Chua said delays in getting confirmation of their contract to work in Malaysia was the main reason why only around 10% of the 1,149 posts created for foreign contract doctors last year had been filled.
This was despite the fact that the number of foreign doctors expressing interest in working in Malaysia had been a lot higher than the number of positions available.
“As at June 30, only 135 foreign doctors had reported for duty. Sixty-three were from Pakistan, 40 from India, 16 from Indonesia, 12 from Bangladesh and four from Myanmar,” he said.
Of the total posts available, the PSC had so far only offered 404 contracts.
Chua said foreign doctors had to wait for as long as two years to get confirmation of their recruitment from Malaysia.
Besides these delays, other reasons for the low number of foreign doctors who had taken up their posts were delays by doctors in obtaining “letters of good standing” from their respective medical councils, failure of doctors to obtain release from their employers and requests by doctors to postpone their dates for reporting for duty.
“I believe the ministry will be the most suitable body to handle the recruitment as it knows how many doctors and what skills are needed,” he said, adding that delays did not just occur at the PSC level but also at other agencies, including his own ministry and the Malaysian Medical Council.
On incentives to keep medical personnel in Government service, Chua said that the ministry was in the process of filling 1,034 posts for promotion. Of these, 365 were new posts approved by the Government.
He added that 148 people had already been promoted this year.
“We are also in the final stages of discussion with the Public Service Department (PSD) to allow public health physicians to get a specialist allowance that is at par with that enjoyed by their clinical counterparts.
“If we succeed, the various grades of public health physicians will enjoy a 43% increase in the specialist allowance they are presently receiving,” he said.
The new rates would range from RM1,300 to RM2,400 a month, compared to RM910 to RM1,680 currently.
He added that another incentive that the ministry is negotiating with the PSD for is the fast tracking of promotions for specialists and sub-specialists. This system would allow specialists to be promoted after certain years of service.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry hopes to take over the process of recruiting foreign contract doctors, its minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng said.
“I am not quite happy at the speed in which we have been recruiting these doctors and I have directed the ministry to discuss with the Public Service Commission (PSC) the possibility of letting us recruit the doctors ourselves,” he said.
Speaking to reporters after opening the ministry’s annual health dialogue here yesterday, Chua said delays in getting confirmation of their contract to work in Malaysia was the main reason why only around 10% of the 1,149 posts created for foreign contract doctors last year had been filled.
This was despite the fact that the number of foreign doctors expressing interest in working in Malaysia had been a lot higher than the number of positions available.
“As at June 30, only 135 foreign doctors had reported for duty. Sixty-three were from Pakistan, 40 from India, 16 from Indonesia, 12 from Bangladesh and four from Myanmar,” he said.
Of the total posts available, the PSC had so far only offered 404 contracts.
Chua said foreign doctors had to wait for as long as two years to get confirmation of their recruitment from Malaysia.
Besides these delays, other reasons for the low number of foreign doctors who had taken up their posts were delays by doctors in obtaining “letters of good standing” from their respective medical councils, failure of doctors to obtain release from their employers and requests by doctors to postpone their dates for reporting for duty.
“I believe the ministry will be the most suitable body to handle the recruitment as it knows how many doctors and what skills are needed,” he said, adding that delays did not just occur at the PSC level but also at other agencies, including his own ministry and the Malaysian Medical Council.
On incentives to keep medical personnel in Government service, Chua said that the ministry was in the process of filling 1,034 posts for promotion. Of these, 365 were new posts approved by the Government.
He added that 148 people had already been promoted this year.
“We are also in the final stages of discussion with the Public Service Department (PSD) to allow public health physicians to get a specialist allowance that is at par with that enjoyed by their clinical counterparts.
“If we succeed, the various grades of public health physicians will enjoy a 43% increase in the specialist allowance they are presently receiving,” he said.
The new rates would range from RM1,300 to RM2,400 a month, compared to RM910 to RM1,680 currently.
He added that another incentive that the ministry is negotiating with the PSD for is the fast tracking of promotions for specialists and sub-specialists. This system would allow specialists to be promoted after certain years of service.
Compulsory three-year service for pharmacists
KUALA LUMPUR: Newly registered pharmacists will have to undergo a three-year mandatory service in the public sector effective early next year to help overcome the shortage faced by public health institutions, Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng said.
He said the Cabinet had approved the ministry's proposal several weeks ago to amend the Registration of Pharmacists Act 1951, which would be tabled in the next Parliament sitting in September.
"Out of the current 3,234 pharmacists practising in the country, only 583 or 18% are in the public sector, with most of them working with the ministry," he said.
He also said of the 1,845 pharmacists registered with the Pharmacy Board from 1994 to 2002, only 280 or 15.2% chose to work in the public sector, adding that there were 988 pharmacy posts available in the ministry and more than half of the vacancies have yet to be filled.
Chua said the vacancy rates were high in Sarawak (79.6%), Negri Sembilan (72.1%), Sabah (68.2%), and Selangor (61.5%). "Even the Kuala Lumpur Hospital has a vacancy rate or 63.6%," he added.
"This poses a problem as the most of the patients are in the government hospitals and clinics and not in the private sector. This affects the effective distribution of pharmaceutical services to patients," he told reporters after addressing NGOs at the second day of the ministry’s annual health dialogue here today.
Chua said to accommodate this amendment, about 3,000 new posts of pharmacists would be created by 2020, with approximately RM72mil being utilised between 2004 and 2020 on emoluments for them.
"The compulsory service will provide invaluable experience to the young people as it will expose them to a range of professional experience. These include regulatory enforcement and clinical pharmacy practices," he said.
KUALA LUMPUR: Newly registered pharmacists will have to undergo a three-year mandatory service in the public sector effective early next year to help overcome the shortage faced by public health institutions, Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng said.
He said the Cabinet had approved the ministry's proposal several weeks ago to amend the Registration of Pharmacists Act 1951, which would be tabled in the next Parliament sitting in September.
"Out of the current 3,234 pharmacists practising in the country, only 583 or 18% are in the public sector, with most of them working with the ministry," he said.
He also said of the 1,845 pharmacists registered with the Pharmacy Board from 1994 to 2002, only 280 or 15.2% chose to work in the public sector, adding that there were 988 pharmacy posts available in the ministry and more than half of the vacancies have yet to be filled.
Chua said the vacancy rates were high in Sarawak (79.6%), Negri Sembilan (72.1%), Sabah (68.2%), and Selangor (61.5%). "Even the Kuala Lumpur Hospital has a vacancy rate or 63.6%," he added.
"This poses a problem as the most of the patients are in the government hospitals and clinics and not in the private sector. This affects the effective distribution of pharmaceutical services to patients," he told reporters after addressing NGOs at the second day of the ministry’s annual health dialogue here today.
Chua said to accommodate this amendment, about 3,000 new posts of pharmacists would be created by 2020, with approximately RM72mil being utilised between 2004 and 2020 on emoluments for them.
"The compulsory service will provide invaluable experience to the young people as it will expose them to a range of professional experience. These include regulatory enforcement and clinical pharmacy practices," he said.
Monday, July 21, 2003
theedgedaily.com:BioValley gets over RM100 mln investments
The government has lured over RM100 million of investments from three companies to conduct research and manufacturing activities in Malaysia's biotechnology hub, BioValley.
Science, Technology and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Law Hieng Ding said the three companies were a Dutch entity, a Malaysia-China joint venture and a local company.
The companies would be involved in the neutraceutical and animal feeds production, he told reporters after launching the National Conference on Biotechnology & Life Sciences 2003 on July 21.
Neutraceutical, which comes from the combination of the words "nutritional" and "pharmaceutical," refers to food that acts as medicines.
Law said the government was still negotiating with three other companies to invest in the BioValley project in its efforts to attract more investors in biotechnology.
"We are looking at the incentives. We will work out a package with MIDA (Malaysian Industrial Development Authority)," he said. On top of its rich biodiversity, Malaysia also offered good infrastructure and living standards, Law said.
In his speech earlier, the minister said Malaysia hoped to attract 150 biotech companies and pull in US$10.5 billion in investments over the next decade in its biotechnology hub.
BioValley Malaysia - located on a 200ha site south of Cyberjaya - is expected to be ready by 2006. Besides this, designated areas in Penang, Sabah, Sawarak, Malacca and Johor have also been classified as BioValley satellites.
The government has lured over RM100 million of investments from three companies to conduct research and manufacturing activities in Malaysia's biotechnology hub, BioValley.
Science, Technology and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Law Hieng Ding said the three companies were a Dutch entity, a Malaysia-China joint venture and a local company.
The companies would be involved in the neutraceutical and animal feeds production, he told reporters after launching the National Conference on Biotechnology & Life Sciences 2003 on July 21.
Neutraceutical, which comes from the combination of the words "nutritional" and "pharmaceutical," refers to food that acts as medicines.
Law said the government was still negotiating with three other companies to invest in the BioValley project in its efforts to attract more investors in biotechnology.
"We are looking at the incentives. We will work out a package with MIDA (Malaysian Industrial Development Authority)," he said. On top of its rich biodiversity, Malaysia also offered good infrastructure and living standards, Law said.
In his speech earlier, the minister said Malaysia hoped to attract 150 biotech companies and pull in US$10.5 billion in investments over the next decade in its biotechnology hub.
BioValley Malaysia - located on a 200ha site south of Cyberjaya - is expected to be ready by 2006. Besides this, designated areas in Penang, Sabah, Sawarak, Malacca and Johor have also been classified as BioValley satellites.
Saturday, July 19, 2003
Most Ipoh Hospital staff don’t believe in smiling
IPOH: Only 20% of Ipoh Hospital staff admitted in a recent survey that it was important for them to smile while on duty.
The survey conducted by the hospital between June 25 and July 5 on 182 people showed that 70% ticked “disagree'' for the question which stated that smiling was important while on duty.
Another question revealed that only 40% agreed they had to treat their patients well while only 7% agreed there was good communication among hospital staff.
About 30% of the staff also admitted to grumbling when one of their colleagues took either sick or emergency leave.
The findings of the survey were disclosed yesterday by the hospital to Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Mohamad Taha Arif who launched the hospital's Caring Services Campaign.
Dr Mohamad said it was difficult to believe the survey results because 80% of the hospital staff did not consider that smiling was important.
There might be some defects in the survey, he said.
“If the findings are true, I better pack my bags and leave,” he said during his speech yesterday.
Dr Mohamad, however, agreed that there were many complaints against hospitals.
He reminded staff to improve counter service and use discretion in allowing the sick to jump queue to see the doctor.
He asked senior doctors to set a good example to younger doctors.
Dr Mohamad also advised hospitals to acknowledge complaint letters before starting investigations.
Earlier, state health director Datuk Dr Abdul Razak Kechik said the findings of the survey were a wake-up call for all hospital staff.
He agreed the department had received many complaints.
He called on all district hospitals to organise similar campaigns, adding that Taiping Hospital launched its campaign last month.
IPOH: Only 20% of Ipoh Hospital staff admitted in a recent survey that it was important for them to smile while on duty.
The survey conducted by the hospital between June 25 and July 5 on 182 people showed that 70% ticked “disagree'' for the question which stated that smiling was important while on duty.
Another question revealed that only 40% agreed they had to treat their patients well while only 7% agreed there was good communication among hospital staff.
About 30% of the staff also admitted to grumbling when one of their colleagues took either sick or emergency leave.
The findings of the survey were disclosed yesterday by the hospital to Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Mohamad Taha Arif who launched the hospital's Caring Services Campaign.
Dr Mohamad said it was difficult to believe the survey results because 80% of the hospital staff did not consider that smiling was important.
There might be some defects in the survey, he said.
“If the findings are true, I better pack my bags and leave,” he said during his speech yesterday.
Dr Mohamad, however, agreed that there were many complaints against hospitals.
He reminded staff to improve counter service and use discretion in allowing the sick to jump queue to see the doctor.
He asked senior doctors to set a good example to younger doctors.
Dr Mohamad also advised hospitals to acknowledge complaint letters before starting investigations.
Earlier, state health director Datuk Dr Abdul Razak Kechik said the findings of the survey were a wake-up call for all hospital staff.
He agreed the department had received many complaints.
He called on all district hospitals to organise similar campaigns, adding that Taiping Hospital launched its campaign last month.
Friday, July 18, 2003
BMJ 2003;327 (19 July)
School exam results predict success in medicine
Medical students' A level results predict their postgraduate medical qualifications and choice of career, whereas intelligence tests do not. McManus and colleagues (p 139) followed a cohort of students of a London medical school who started their clinical course between 1975 and 1982. They found that A level grades predicted performance in undergraduate training and in postregistration house officer posts, and time to achieve membership qualifications. No previous prospective studies relating postgraduate careers to A level grades have been conducted, and these results suggest they are valid selection criteria. The authors state that more study is needed to clarify whether the predictive value of A levels results from assessing knowledge, motivation, or study habits. Other factors such as personality may also play a role.
School exam results predict success in medicine
Medical students' A level results predict their postgraduate medical qualifications and choice of career, whereas intelligence tests do not. McManus and colleagues (p 139) followed a cohort of students of a London medical school who started their clinical course between 1975 and 1982. They found that A level grades predicted performance in undergraduate training and in postregistration house officer posts, and time to achieve membership qualifications. No previous prospective studies relating postgraduate careers to A level grades have been conducted, and these results suggest they are valid selection criteria. The authors state that more study is needed to clarify whether the predictive value of A levels results from assessing knowledge, motivation, or study habits. Other factors such as personality may also play a role.
Computerworld Malaysia - - Hospital goes fully wireless
Spotted this recently but I don't know how old the news is:
Doctors at Selayang Hospital get remote access to test results, x-rays and other patient information.
By Computerworld Malaysia staff
DOCTORS and healthcare experts at Malaysia's Selayang Hospital can now view patients' x-rays and test results as they become available by "logging on" to electronic bedside charts and other media.
This is the result of a new wireless networking project at the hospital, the Total Hospital Information System (THIS). The system will also give doctors access to medical records, financial and administrative information through a variety of tools including electronic charts located at the foot of every patient's bed. This enables care givers to do realtime drug reaction monitoring, access drug references and check clinical histories. X-ray images are also digitised so that they can be transmitted over the system, made possible with networking tools provided by netowrking vendor 3Com.
Selayang Hospital is a 960-bed facility, with experts in 20 clinical disciplines. Said to be the country's most technologically advanced hospital, it is located 15 kms north of Kuala Lumpur. Similar systems to THIS are already in place in hospitals in the US states of Michigan and Illinois.
Spotted this recently but I don't know how old the news is:
Doctors at Selayang Hospital get remote access to test results, x-rays and other patient information.
By Computerworld Malaysia staff
DOCTORS and healthcare experts at Malaysia's Selayang Hospital can now view patients' x-rays and test results as they become available by "logging on" to electronic bedside charts and other media.
This is the result of a new wireless networking project at the hospital, the Total Hospital Information System (THIS). The system will also give doctors access to medical records, financial and administrative information through a variety of tools including electronic charts located at the foot of every patient's bed. This enables care givers to do realtime drug reaction monitoring, access drug references and check clinical histories. X-ray images are also digitised so that they can be transmitted over the system, made possible with networking tools provided by netowrking vendor 3Com.
Selayang Hospital is a 960-bed facility, with experts in 20 clinical disciplines. Said to be the country's most technologically advanced hospital, it is located 15 kms north of Kuala Lumpur. Similar systems to THIS are already in place in hospitals in the US states of Michigan and Illinois.
Thursday, July 17, 2003
Malaysia puts muscle behind biotech in bid to lift economy
SINGAPORE — With its manufacturing sector slumping as foreign investors flock to mainland China, Malaysia is turning to biotechnology as an engine for growth. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has committed $40 million to build a biotechnology center with state-of-the-art research institutes and training facilities on a 500-acre site near Kuala Lumpur International Airport to lessen the country's dependence on manufacturing.
The BioValley Malaysia project is planned for 2006, and Malaysia hopes to attract $10.5 billion to $12.2 billion of investments within a decade in such fields as agro-biotechnology, genomics and molecular biology. A $13.1 million campus also is planned to train researchers and biotech entrepreneurs with the help of experts from overseas, including China. The government hopes the investments will launch 150 biotech firms and create 30,000 jobs within 10 years.
Malaysia has reported that its manufacturing investment shrank by almost 36 percent in 2002 from 2001. Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz blamed it on the postponement of several large projects that were stalled by the uncertainty of the global economy. In addition, capital investment by the Malaysian American electronics industry fell to $420 million last year from $605 million 2001. This was blamed in part on dwindling foreign investments and the greater competitiveness of China as a manufacturing locale.
Analysts see recent pump-priming measures by the government as insufficient to jump-start manufacturing or the electronics sector. A $1.92 billion stimulus package announced last week by Prime Minister Mahathir to arrest the impact of SARS and revive an economy dependent on foreign investments, tourism and international trade may be too little, too late, said Nagulan Narendran, a retired market analyst from Frontline Investments Sdn. Bhd.
With SARS, the Iraqi war and continuing economic sluggishness worldwide, Malaysia's gross domestic product is estimated to fall from 6.5 percent to 4.5 percent this year. The fiscal incentives were deemed necessary to stimulate the economy while raising competitiveness. Close to 90 measures were announced. In addition, the government separately unveiled a $263 million package to act as a tax relief fund for the tourism sector and to assist traders that needed fresh funds for their businesses. Bank Negara, Malaysia's central bank, is also expected to cut its interbank interest rates to a low of 4.5 percent.
Malaysia tries to catch up with biotech center
KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia launched a $26 million biotechnology center on Tuesday, hoping to attract homegrown and large foreign firms to a cluster and help it narrow a knowledge gap with neighbours Japan and Singapore. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said his country might be late entering the biotech scene, but could catch up fast because its rich and diverse natural resources. "Other countries are already ahead," Mahathir told a news conference. "But we think we have great potential."
Sited on 2,000-acres of flat, former tin-mining land, the government-backed center is called BioValley Malaysia and located just south of software development town Cyberjaya. Two firms -- Dutch-based nutriceuticals Improser Technologies Sdn Bhd and biofoods INS ZHEN-AO Biotech Corp. Sdn Bhd -- signed up as pioneer tenants. "I don't care if this turns out to be a white elephant," Wong Kin Nam, INS ZHEN communications director, told Reuters. "We appreciate the government support. It helps small firms like us develop our products at affordable costs and that improves our chances of making it in the overseas markets." Companies which set up stall at BioValley will be given at least five years free of rent, be eligible for tax incentives and get to use advanced laboratory facilities built by the government, Wong said.
"We think the government needs to give a greater boost to advanced areas like biomedicine, where the payback takes longer," said Henry Low, director of clot blood bank CryoCord Sdn Bhd. Low, a UK.-trained biochemist, said Malaysia was a leader in several specialized palm oil-based research niches, but was on the whole about 10 years behind Singapore and Japan. "But creating a BioValley helps to narrow the gap," he said. Three more centers in Penang, Malacca and the eastern state of Sarawak on Borneo island are planned. Malaysia has huge bio-resources. It is estimated to have some 12,500 species of flowering plants and more than 1,100 species of fern.
SINGAPORE — With its manufacturing sector slumping as foreign investors flock to mainland China, Malaysia is turning to biotechnology as an engine for growth. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has committed $40 million to build a biotechnology center with state-of-the-art research institutes and training facilities on a 500-acre site near Kuala Lumpur International Airport to lessen the country's dependence on manufacturing.
The BioValley Malaysia project is planned for 2006, and Malaysia hopes to attract $10.5 billion to $12.2 billion of investments within a decade in such fields as agro-biotechnology, genomics and molecular biology. A $13.1 million campus also is planned to train researchers and biotech entrepreneurs with the help of experts from overseas, including China. The government hopes the investments will launch 150 biotech firms and create 30,000 jobs within 10 years.
Malaysia has reported that its manufacturing investment shrank by almost 36 percent in 2002 from 2001. Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz blamed it on the postponement of several large projects that were stalled by the uncertainty of the global economy. In addition, capital investment by the Malaysian American electronics industry fell to $420 million last year from $605 million 2001. This was blamed in part on dwindling foreign investments and the greater competitiveness of China as a manufacturing locale.
Analysts see recent pump-priming measures by the government as insufficient to jump-start manufacturing or the electronics sector. A $1.92 billion stimulus package announced last week by Prime Minister Mahathir to arrest the impact of SARS and revive an economy dependent on foreign investments, tourism and international trade may be too little, too late, said Nagulan Narendran, a retired market analyst from Frontline Investments Sdn. Bhd.
With SARS, the Iraqi war and continuing economic sluggishness worldwide, Malaysia's gross domestic product is estimated to fall from 6.5 percent to 4.5 percent this year. The fiscal incentives were deemed necessary to stimulate the economy while raising competitiveness. Close to 90 measures were announced. In addition, the government separately unveiled a $263 million package to act as a tax relief fund for the tourism sector and to assist traders that needed fresh funds for their businesses. Bank Negara, Malaysia's central bank, is also expected to cut its interbank interest rates to a low of 4.5 percent.
Malaysia tries to catch up with biotech center
KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia launched a $26 million biotechnology center on Tuesday, hoping to attract homegrown and large foreign firms to a cluster and help it narrow a knowledge gap with neighbours Japan and Singapore. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said his country might be late entering the biotech scene, but could catch up fast because its rich and diverse natural resources. "Other countries are already ahead," Mahathir told a news conference. "But we think we have great potential."
Sited on 2,000-acres of flat, former tin-mining land, the government-backed center is called BioValley Malaysia and located just south of software development town Cyberjaya. Two firms -- Dutch-based nutriceuticals Improser Technologies Sdn Bhd and biofoods INS ZHEN-AO Biotech Corp. Sdn Bhd -- signed up as pioneer tenants. "I don't care if this turns out to be a white elephant," Wong Kin Nam, INS ZHEN communications director, told Reuters. "We appreciate the government support. It helps small firms like us develop our products at affordable costs and that improves our chances of making it in the overseas markets." Companies which set up stall at BioValley will be given at least five years free of rent, be eligible for tax incentives and get to use advanced laboratory facilities built by the government, Wong said.
"We think the government needs to give a greater boost to advanced areas like biomedicine, where the payback takes longer," said Henry Low, director of clot blood bank CryoCord Sdn Bhd. Low, a UK.-trained biochemist, said Malaysia was a leader in several specialized palm oil-based research niches, but was on the whole about 10 years behind Singapore and Japan. "But creating a BioValley helps to narrow the gap," he said. Three more centers in Penang, Malacca and the eastern state of Sarawak on Borneo island are planned. Malaysia has huge bio-resources. It is estimated to have some 12,500 species of flowering plants and more than 1,100 species of fern.
Male menopause 'down to laziness'
The male menopause is a myth, the symptoms more likely to be caused by laziness and an unhealthy lifestyle, researchers have claimed. Some men claim symptoms such as hot flushes, depression and a lack of libido - similar to those experienced by women going through the menopause - are due to hormonal changes. But US researchers said they were more likely to be caused by men's unhealthy habits, such as weight gain, smoking and too much drinking. Conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and depression probably also have more of an impact on levels of testosterone than ageing, they said.
Professor John McKinlay, dismissed the male menopause as a "myth", and said drug companies were cashing in on some men's belief that they need hormone replacement therapy. He told the British Fertility Society conference in Aberdeen he had carried out research which showed men did not suffer the same drop in hormone levels as women in middle age.
Professor McKinlay, from the New England Research Institutes in Watertown, Massachusetts, looked at data from the Massachusetts Male Ageing Study (MMAS) which looked at 1,700 men. He said male hormones levels only declined gradually with age, by about 1% a year, and there was no evidence for the existence of a syndrome. Around 5% of men showed signs of hypogonadism, a clinical loss of hormones which is not connected to middle age. Professor McKinlay said: "The notion of a male menopause, mid-life crisis or andropause has been discussed for several decades. "Worldwide, male ageing is generating public interest and also, incidentally, a lucrative market. " He added: "Pharmaceutical involvement is producing new treatments, such as testosterone replacement, in search of a disease." Professor McKinlay added that many "non-scientific" books had been written about the male menopause, but warned they used self-selected data and misrepresented research to back up their ideas.
But Dr Malcolm Carruthers of the Andropause Society, who runs a clinic which offers testosterone treatment attacked the study.
He told a daily newspaper: "The academics who come up with these findings are deluded, and really it is only by seeing and talking to the patients that you can find out what is happening after testosterone treatment - not looking at some laboratory treatment."
The male menopause is a myth, the symptoms more likely to be caused by laziness and an unhealthy lifestyle, researchers have claimed. Some men claim symptoms such as hot flushes, depression and a lack of libido - similar to those experienced by women going through the menopause - are due to hormonal changes. But US researchers said they were more likely to be caused by men's unhealthy habits, such as weight gain, smoking and too much drinking. Conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and depression probably also have more of an impact on levels of testosterone than ageing, they said.
Professor John McKinlay, dismissed the male menopause as a "myth", and said drug companies were cashing in on some men's belief that they need hormone replacement therapy. He told the British Fertility Society conference in Aberdeen he had carried out research which showed men did not suffer the same drop in hormone levels as women in middle age.
Professor McKinlay, from the New England Research Institutes in Watertown, Massachusetts, looked at data from the Massachusetts Male Ageing Study (MMAS) which looked at 1,700 men. He said male hormones levels only declined gradually with age, by about 1% a year, and there was no evidence for the existence of a syndrome. Around 5% of men showed signs of hypogonadism, a clinical loss of hormones which is not connected to middle age. Professor McKinlay said: "The notion of a male menopause, mid-life crisis or andropause has been discussed for several decades. "Worldwide, male ageing is generating public interest and also, incidentally, a lucrative market. " He added: "Pharmaceutical involvement is producing new treatments, such as testosterone replacement, in search of a disease." Professor McKinlay added that many "non-scientific" books had been written about the male menopause, but warned they used self-selected data and misrepresented research to back up their ideas.
But Dr Malcolm Carruthers of the Andropause Society, who runs a clinic which offers testosterone treatment attacked the study.
He told a daily newspaper: "The academics who come up with these findings are deluded, and really it is only by seeing and talking to the patients that you can find out what is happening after testosterone treatment - not looking at some laboratory treatment."
New Straits Times Online :Not ready for such liver transplants
KUALA LUMPUR, July 16: Malaysia is not ready for living unrelated donor liver transplants in adults, especially in terms of possible complications for the donor.
Health deputy director-general Datuk Dr Ismail Merican said this was the consensus of the workshop on clinical practice guidelines on liver transplants held recently in conjunction with the Fifth Liver Update.
The workshop was organised by the Health Ministry and the Malaysia Liver Foundation with the collaboration of the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, Malaysian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and the Malaysian Society of Transplantations.
Dr Ismail said there was a lot of concern about living unrelated liver donors.
"Although world-renowned liver surgeon Professor Fan Sheung Tat, who had conducted living donor liver transplants, had talked about his experience and techniques used in the surgeries at the recent Fifth Liver Update, there were apprehensions on the repercussions on the living donor," he said in an interview.
Dr Ismail, who is also the president of the Malaysian Liver Foundation, said it was strongly felt that living donor liver transplants, especially if opened to unrelated donors, might lead to room for abuse and commercialisation.
He said there was no problem accepting genetically-related or emotionally-related living donors provided they were vetted by an independent professional committee comprising senior clinicians, psychiatrists and medical social workers.
"For the moment, we will stick to cadaveric organ transplantations," he said, adding that the ministry would soon release the much-awaited Liver Transplantation Guidelines.
The proposed guidelines, in the final stage of drafting, are expected to be submitted to the ministry for approval in two weeks.
"Depending on cadaveric organs alone may not be feasible in view of the acute shortage of such donors despite intensified efforts to get people to donate their organs upon death. That is why there is growing interest in living donor liver transplant to offset this acute shortage." He said the ministry was not against living unrelated liver donor transplants and might allow it, especially in children, because of the shortage of cadaveric donors.
"As for children, it is accepted, provided the liver is donated by those who are genetically or emotionally linked." In adults, he said, living unrelated liver donor was still a new area and needed to be studied further.
"We do not want the donor to die or become sick after donating part of his liver." As for those donating to children, he said, an independent vetting committee comprising, among others, senior surgeons and psychiatrists, would interview the donor and the recipient to evaluate their knowledge of the whole process and the implications of the transplant, its risks and impact.
When the liver transplant guidelines come into force, Dr Ismail said liver surgeons must be present at the hospital for at least 48 hours after surgery.
Only hospitals that meet criteria under the guidelines, which include, among others, having good infrastructure, international credential specialists, pathologists, and hepatologists, will be allowed to conduct transplants.
At present, the Selayang Hospital fulfils all the criteria to function as the National Liver Transplant Centre.
Dr Ismail said anyone qualified to carry out liver transplants could do so at the hospital.
He said the hospital, which has four liver surgeons and five hepatologists, handled acute liver failure and difficult cases.
Selayang Hospital, a tertiary centre for liver diseases, handles some 50 cases a month with two liver transplant patients awaiting implementation of the guidelines.
The proposed guidelines, drafted jointly with the Malaysian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Academy of Medicine Malaysia and Malaysian Society of Transplantation, will indicate who should go for liver transplantation.
It will also indicate timing of referrals and potential patients for transplants.
As for living liver donors, the guidelines stipulate that this is an effective life-saving procedure for selected patients with end-stage liver disease.
But such operations must have an expert surgical team and appropriate selection of recipient and donor.
Unrelated donors may be allowed provided they are vetted by an independent professional body.
KUALA LUMPUR, July 16: Malaysia is not ready for living unrelated donor liver transplants in adults, especially in terms of possible complications for the donor.
Health deputy director-general Datuk Dr Ismail Merican said this was the consensus of the workshop on clinical practice guidelines on liver transplants held recently in conjunction with the Fifth Liver Update.
The workshop was organised by the Health Ministry and the Malaysia Liver Foundation with the collaboration of the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, Malaysian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and the Malaysian Society of Transplantations.
Dr Ismail said there was a lot of concern about living unrelated liver donors.
"Although world-renowned liver surgeon Professor Fan Sheung Tat, who had conducted living donor liver transplants, had talked about his experience and techniques used in the surgeries at the recent Fifth Liver Update, there were apprehensions on the repercussions on the living donor," he said in an interview.
Dr Ismail, who is also the president of the Malaysian Liver Foundation, said it was strongly felt that living donor liver transplants, especially if opened to unrelated donors, might lead to room for abuse and commercialisation.
He said there was no problem accepting genetically-related or emotionally-related living donors provided they were vetted by an independent professional committee comprising senior clinicians, psychiatrists and medical social workers.
"For the moment, we will stick to cadaveric organ transplantations," he said, adding that the ministry would soon release the much-awaited Liver Transplantation Guidelines.
The proposed guidelines, in the final stage of drafting, are expected to be submitted to the ministry for approval in two weeks.
"Depending on cadaveric organs alone may not be feasible in view of the acute shortage of such donors despite intensified efforts to get people to donate their organs upon death. That is why there is growing interest in living donor liver transplant to offset this acute shortage." He said the ministry was not against living unrelated liver donor transplants and might allow it, especially in children, because of the shortage of cadaveric donors.
"As for children, it is accepted, provided the liver is donated by those who are genetically or emotionally linked." In adults, he said, living unrelated liver donor was still a new area and needed to be studied further.
"We do not want the donor to die or become sick after donating part of his liver." As for those donating to children, he said, an independent vetting committee comprising, among others, senior surgeons and psychiatrists, would interview the donor and the recipient to evaluate their knowledge of the whole process and the implications of the transplant, its risks and impact.
When the liver transplant guidelines come into force, Dr Ismail said liver surgeons must be present at the hospital for at least 48 hours after surgery.
Only hospitals that meet criteria under the guidelines, which include, among others, having good infrastructure, international credential specialists, pathologists, and hepatologists, will be allowed to conduct transplants.
At present, the Selayang Hospital fulfils all the criteria to function as the National Liver Transplant Centre.
Dr Ismail said anyone qualified to carry out liver transplants could do so at the hospital.
He said the hospital, which has four liver surgeons and five hepatologists, handled acute liver failure and difficult cases.
Selayang Hospital, a tertiary centre for liver diseases, handles some 50 cases a month with two liver transplant patients awaiting implementation of the guidelines.
The proposed guidelines, drafted jointly with the Malaysian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Academy of Medicine Malaysia and Malaysian Society of Transplantation, will indicate who should go for liver transplantation.
It will also indicate timing of referrals and potential patients for transplants.
As for living liver donors, the guidelines stipulate that this is an effective life-saving procedure for selected patients with end-stage liver disease.
But such operations must have an expert surgical team and appropriate selection of recipient and donor.
Unrelated donors may be allowed provided they are vetted by an independent professional body.
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
Computerworld Malaysia - Vol. 13 Issue No. 8, 7 July - 10 August 2003 - HKL achieves telemedicine first
HOSPITAL Kuala Lumpur (HKL) celebrated a historic telemedicine first when it announced a successful first year of operations of its Telemedicine Command Controls Centre (TCCC) in the Urology department recently. HKL is the first hospital in the region to install a TCCC on the premises, which utilises info-communications technologies to enable monitoring of the individual operating theatres simultaneously and separately, and conferencing between doctors and these theatres. Provided by local healthcare sector technology provider Intuitive Controls this system also offers the setting for an interactive classroom. It has been up and running since August 2002 after an initial planning and implementation period of about three years.
Malaysia today is facing an acute lack of trained medical experts and medical service providers. The medical industry, until recently, was facing a brain drain from the government sector to private or other international options. In Malaysia currently, the general hospitals and universities have been the main centres that are responsible for training specialists.
"As such, telemedicine presents a real opportunity to address this fundamental issue by enabling training to be conducted in-house and more frequently for specialists on a wider scale," stressed Prem Kumar, managing director of Intuitive Controls. "In addition, the cost savings in training these doctors is very attractive as the training is conducted on the job."
Prem added that telemedicine relies on the ability to administer medical care over different locations as well as to transfer electronic medical data, such as high-resolution images, live video, sound and patient records.
Jason Chung, Intuitive Controls' marketing manager, said that with telemedicine facilities a doctor could, for example, monitor a patient's heart condition remotely and alert the patient to visit a hospital when necessary. In other examples, an ambulance equipped with the latest imaging technology and telecommunications equipment could be turned into a mobile hospital, where information can be sent to a designated hospital prior to the patient's arrival or even have the patient treated in the ambulance itself.
The TCCC at KLH combines tele-monitoring with tele-collaborative systems to enable surgeons and specialists to work together with experts located around the world to conduct operations, training and conferences. This sets the platform for surgeons in the operating theatre to remotely control the endoscope via voice controls, while surgeons based at another location are able to remotely access peripheral devices and key surgical information.
This in turn opens the door for implementation of Robotics Aided Minimal Invasive Surgery, which is commonly used in procedures such as radical prostectomy in urology, appendectomies and cardio vascular procedures. Besides a shorter rehabilitation period, minimal invasive surgery allows for zero infection, less cosmetic damage, shorter hospital stays and lower costs.
HOSPITAL Kuala Lumpur (HKL) celebrated a historic telemedicine first when it announced a successful first year of operations of its Telemedicine Command Controls Centre (TCCC) in the Urology department recently. HKL is the first hospital in the region to install a TCCC on the premises, which utilises info-communications technologies to enable monitoring of the individual operating theatres simultaneously and separately, and conferencing between doctors and these theatres. Provided by local healthcare sector technology provider Intuitive Controls this system also offers the setting for an interactive classroom. It has been up and running since August 2002 after an initial planning and implementation period of about three years.
Malaysia today is facing an acute lack of trained medical experts and medical service providers. The medical industry, until recently, was facing a brain drain from the government sector to private or other international options. In Malaysia currently, the general hospitals and universities have been the main centres that are responsible for training specialists.
"As such, telemedicine presents a real opportunity to address this fundamental issue by enabling training to be conducted in-house and more frequently for specialists on a wider scale," stressed Prem Kumar, managing director of Intuitive Controls. "In addition, the cost savings in training these doctors is very attractive as the training is conducted on the job."
Prem added that telemedicine relies on the ability to administer medical care over different locations as well as to transfer electronic medical data, such as high-resolution images, live video, sound and patient records.
Jason Chung, Intuitive Controls' marketing manager, said that with telemedicine facilities a doctor could, for example, monitor a patient's heart condition remotely and alert the patient to visit a hospital when necessary. In other examples, an ambulance equipped with the latest imaging technology and telecommunications equipment could be turned into a mobile hospital, where information can be sent to a designated hospital prior to the patient's arrival or even have the patient treated in the ambulance itself.
The TCCC at KLH combines tele-monitoring with tele-collaborative systems to enable surgeons and specialists to work together with experts located around the world to conduct operations, training and conferences. This sets the platform for surgeons in the operating theatre to remotely control the endoscope via voice controls, while surgeons based at another location are able to remotely access peripheral devices and key surgical information.
This in turn opens the door for implementation of Robotics Aided Minimal Invasive Surgery, which is commonly used in procedures such as radical prostectomy in urology, appendectomies and cardio vascular procedures. Besides a shorter rehabilitation period, minimal invasive surgery allows for zero infection, less cosmetic damage, shorter hospital stays and lower costs.
Ill-prepared to stop a growing AIDS epidemic
NEW YORK: There are only about 10 doctors throughout Malaysia who have significant experience treating HIV/AIDS and the country will be ill-prepared to thwart a growing epidemic, with indications that the infection rate is going up.
According to a report in the latest issue of TREAT Asia Report, a quarterly newsletter published by the American Foundation for AIDS Research on behalf of TREAT Asia (Therapeutics Research, Education, and AIDS Training in Asia), the rate was rising, especially among injection drug users and female sex workers in urban areas.
The report said that presently, compared with many South-East Asian countries, Malaysia, however, had a relatively low prevalence of HIV/AIDS.
UNAIDS (Joint United Nations programme on HIV/ AIDS) in 2001 estimated that only 0.4% of the adult population was infected with HIV and about 42,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS.
The quarterly featured the University Malaya Medical Centre’s (UMMC) infectious disease unit as a premier referral service for HIV/AIDS patients in Kuala Lumpur and is a participating site in TREAT Asia. The other site in Malaysia is the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
TREAT Asia is a network of clinics, hospitals and research institutions working to ensure safe and effective delivery of HIV/AIDS treatment in Asia and the Pacific.
Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman of UMMC, a top health expert on HIV/AIDS, attributed the shortage of experts in Malaysia to doctors tending to shy away from specialising in infectious diseases and opting instead for more lucrative fields like dermatology and ophthalmology.
Another reason was the high level of stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. She said that Malaysians traditionally condemned activities that could lead to the transmission of HIV, including intravenous drug use, premarital, extramarital and homosexual sex, and sexual relations with sex workers.
Dr Adeeba, a member of TREAT Asia’s steering committee, said her unit had three physicians to treat all cases of infectious disease, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, typhoid, malaria and dengue fever.
The unit runs HIV/AIDS-specific programmes three days a week and currently serves about 300 patients, mostly men in their mid-30s showing symptoms of AIDS-related disease like tuberculosis.
While injection drug users represent the majority of the cases, Dr Adeeba said they made up only 15% to 20% of patients who came to the unit. Most of her patients contracted HIV through heterosexual sex.
As part of the TREAT Asia/HIV/AIDS Observational Database, the unit will start to compile anonymous patient data. It hopes to help develop effective national data collection practices and ultimately, effective AIDS prevention and treatment strategies.
NEW YORK: There are only about 10 doctors throughout Malaysia who have significant experience treating HIV/AIDS and the country will be ill-prepared to thwart a growing epidemic, with indications that the infection rate is going up.
According to a report in the latest issue of TREAT Asia Report, a quarterly newsletter published by the American Foundation for AIDS Research on behalf of TREAT Asia (Therapeutics Research, Education, and AIDS Training in Asia), the rate was rising, especially among injection drug users and female sex workers in urban areas.
The report said that presently, compared with many South-East Asian countries, Malaysia, however, had a relatively low prevalence of HIV/AIDS.
UNAIDS (Joint United Nations programme on HIV/ AIDS) in 2001 estimated that only 0.4% of the adult population was infected with HIV and about 42,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS.
The quarterly featured the University Malaya Medical Centre’s (UMMC) infectious disease unit as a premier referral service for HIV/AIDS patients in Kuala Lumpur and is a participating site in TREAT Asia. The other site in Malaysia is the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
TREAT Asia is a network of clinics, hospitals and research institutions working to ensure safe and effective delivery of HIV/AIDS treatment in Asia and the Pacific.
Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman of UMMC, a top health expert on HIV/AIDS, attributed the shortage of experts in Malaysia to doctors tending to shy away from specialising in infectious diseases and opting instead for more lucrative fields like dermatology and ophthalmology.
Another reason was the high level of stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. She said that Malaysians traditionally condemned activities that could lead to the transmission of HIV, including intravenous drug use, premarital, extramarital and homosexual sex, and sexual relations with sex workers.
Dr Adeeba, a member of TREAT Asia’s steering committee, said her unit had three physicians to treat all cases of infectious disease, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, typhoid, malaria and dengue fever.
The unit runs HIV/AIDS-specific programmes three days a week and currently serves about 300 patients, mostly men in their mid-30s showing symptoms of AIDS-related disease like tuberculosis.
While injection drug users represent the majority of the cases, Dr Adeeba said they made up only 15% to 20% of patients who came to the unit. Most of her patients contracted HIV through heterosexual sex.
As part of the TREAT Asia/HIV/AIDS Observational Database, the unit will start to compile anonymous patient data. It hopes to help develop effective national data collection practices and ultimately, effective AIDS prevention and treatment strategies.
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
MTUC wants action against disappearing medical centre
A medical centre in Selangor which ceased operations overnight after 10 months in business has not only left its staff in limbo, but may have also breached some laws, said trades union secretary general G Rajasekaran today.
Rajasekaran said that the Teluk Panglima Medical Centre had suddenly ceased operations on June 23 without informing its workers - two doctors, eight nurses and three administrative staff - who have since lodged a complaint to the Labour Department.
"And more importantly, the action of the centre could also be in breach of law as they have failed to abide by the Employment Act to inform the nearest Labour Department of their impending closure," Rajasekaran told malaysiakini.
A medical centre in Selangor which ceased operations overnight after 10 months in business has not only left its staff in limbo, but may have also breached some laws, said trades union secretary general G Rajasekaran today.
Rajasekaran said that the Teluk Panglima Medical Centre had suddenly ceased operations on June 23 without informing its workers - two doctors, eight nurses and three administrative staff - who have since lodged a complaint to the Labour Department.
"And more importantly, the action of the centre could also be in breach of law as they have failed to abide by the Employment Act to inform the nearest Labour Department of their impending closure," Rajasekaran told malaysiakini.
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