The Ministry of Health (MOH) will soon introduce an online booking platform for people to access healthcare services at home.
What you need to know: Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said that the platform would be set up and managed by a private sector company which would be selected through an open tender.
Services offered would include laboratory testing services, non-emergency outpatient services, specialised wound care services, and peritoneal dialysis. The services would be provided by medical practitioners.
Payment rates for these services would depend on the service provided and how far the patient’s house is from the medical office.
Why it matters: Home services will make healthcare services more widely accessible. It would help those who are too sick or old to travel to hospitals, or for the elderly who don’t have younger family members to take them for treatment.
Who said what: Dr Adham announced these plans to MOH staff at the ministry yesterday (Tuesday, 7 July)
Uberisation is the utilisation of computing platforms such as mobile apps or websites, in order to facilitate peer-to-peer transactions between clients and providers of a service.
What’s next: MOH is also in the middle of drafting and reviewing matters pertaining to the core business and its management. This document or plan is called the MOH New Deals and will be adopted as a direction.
MOH New Deals is the digitalisation and outsourcing of healthcare services, strengthening the country’s preparedness for epidemics, environmental disasters, and medical emergencies, as well as improving the health financing system.
How it got here: The ministry reportedly considered the idea of home services after receiving numerous requests from the public for monthly treatments being conducted at home.
Dr Adham also said that the uberisation of healthcare services is a part of MOH New Deals under the Malaysian National Health Agenda to strengthen health promotion and healthy lifestyles.
Source: The Rakyat Post
