{
  "id": 4536894,
  "title": "Inside the health ministry’s shift towards structural reform",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/inside-the-health-ministrys-shift-towards-structural-reform-4536894",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-31T00:15:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/08/31/inside-the-health-ministry-s-shift-towards-structural-reform"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Malaysian health ministry is transitioning from individual fixes to coordinated structural reforms to tackle the strain on the public healthcare system. This shift is part of the RESET strategic initiative, which encompasses various reform initiatives such as MediAsas, diagnosis-related group financing, alternative service delivery models, and inter-ministry collaboration. Dr. Azman Yacob, deputy director-general of the health ministry, emphasized that healthcare transformation is a long-term process that cannot be achieved by the ministry alone. The Hospital Services Outsourcing Programme, launched in 2024, has led to a significant reduction in waiting times for specific medical services. Waiting times for arteriovenous fistula surgeries have dropped by 75%, from 16 weeks to just four weeks, while MRI and ultrasound services saw a 20% reduction, from 20 weeks to 16 weeks. CT scan waits also decreased by 14%, from 14 weeks to 12 weeks. Dr. Noor Ashani Yusoff, president of the Malaysian Urological Association, welcomed the health ministry's reforms, including MediAsas, as a vital step toward recognizing that expanding capacity alone is insufficient to address the pressure on the public healthcare system. He highlighted that MediAsas aims to make basic private medical insurance more accessible and affordable, indirectly alleviating pressure on public hospitals. To address inherited manpower shortages, the ministry has undertaken the largest human resources exercise in its history, granting permanent appointments to 18,755 medical, pharmacy, and dental officers. Additionally, 4,328 nurses were made permanent between 2023 and 2025, with more to be made permanent in the coming year. The legacy contract doctor system is set to end by 2028 as medical officers are gradually absorbed into permanent roles. The ministry also expanded sponsorships for the parallel pathway programme to 600 annually across 14 medical fields, a significant increase from just 52 in 2022. Amendments to the Medical Act 1971 now allow specialists from both the local master's and parallel pathway programmes to be recognized. These efforts aim to build a more efficient, integrated, and sustainable healthcare system while prioritizing patient access, quality, and safety.",
  "summary": "The ministry’s recent healthcare measures under the RESET strategic banner form part of a long-term reform push to ease pressure on public healthcare.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Inside the health ministry’s shift towards structural reform",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/inside-the-health-ministrys-shift-towards-structural-reform",
        "published": "2026-08-31T00:15:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}