'Near to home, the better': Dzulkefly on healthcare reform
PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry is shifting towards a more patient-centred healthcare system, with services increasingly brought closer to people’s homes through digitalisation and other innovations, says Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
The Health Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, has outlined plans to transform the healthcare system in a more patient-centred approach during the 15th Parliament. Dr Dzulkefly emphasized the importance of bringing healthcare services closer to people's homes through digitalisation and innovative initiatives, stating, "Whatever the vehicle, whatever the method, whatever the platform, whatever the initiative, I will certainly fulfil it as soon as possible."
Current challenges include addressing non-communicable diseases, food safety, nutrition, environmental health and planetary health. To tackle these issues, the Health Ministry has established a Digital Health Division and a Health Transformation Office to lead and manage new initiatives. One of the key areas of focus is health financing reform and digitalisation, which includes the development of a national electronic medical records (EMR) system to ensure interoperability across healthcare facilities.
The patient's journey and experience remain central to the improvements in healthcare delivery. Dr Dzulkefly highlighted initiatives such as Medicines By Post, a service that enables patients to receive their medications without the need to travel to healthcare facilities for collection. This initiative aims to save patients time and travel costs, ensure continuity of treatment, and reduce congestion at healthcare facilities.
The MyUBAT application, developed in 2021, has seen nearly 893,000 registered users and over six million medicine-supply appointment transactions. The Health Ministry has also introduced various pharmacy services, including Pharmacy Drive-Through, Medicines By Post, Local Follow-up Medicine Supply Centres, medicine lockers, and Third-Party Follow-up Medicine Supply.
Dr Dzulkefly thanked Pos Malaysia Berhad for its partnership with the Health Ministry in delivering medicines to patients. The ultimate goal is to make healthcare services more accessible, people-friendly, and responsive to patients' needs, ensuring a patient experience and patient journey that is the benchmark for improvement.
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