Malaysia has spent decades digitising public healthcare. Why are paper records still in use?

Malaysia has been progressively digitising its public healthcare system, but paper records are still widely used. Electronic medical records (EMR) aim to streamline patient care by storing and retrieving medical histories digitally. However, many hospitals still rely on paper-based processes, causing inconvenience for patients. For instance, Jensen Lim, a 38-year-old patient, had his appointment book washed away, making it difficult to reschedule his appointments.

Another patient, CK Tan, was forced to wait while a nurse searched for her medical file. Medeline Chong, diagnosed with leukemia, experienced her medical report containing biopsy results being misplaced. At a dental clinic, Rahimah Mohd Razman had to rely on a photo of her X-ray for a follow-up treatment without access to her dental records.

These scenarios highlight the practical issues EMR aims to resolve but also demonstrates the challenges faced in transitioning from paper to electronic records. The Health Ministry's hospital information system, HIS@KKM, covers registration, appointments, admissions, and medical-record management, but different systems are in use, and not all are connected.

Despite these challenges, the government has allocated RM350 million to accelerate digitalisation across public healthcare.