Public, Private Institutions Urged To Collaborate To Strengthen Healthcare Sector

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7 (Bernama) -- The public and private institutions must work together to strengthen the healthcare sector in the country, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

Dr Dzulkefly said sole reliance on government-owned healthcare facilities would lead to these institutions becoming overwhelmed by the demand from the public seeking treatment.

“I want both the public and private institutions to play their roles. If we depend only on government facilities for treatment, they will become increasingly burdened and crowded.

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“So, I encourage the private sector to develop their facilities to be well-equipped and affordable, meaning they must ensure that the inflationary pressures on healthcare costs in the private sector is balanced and not excessively high,” he said while appearing as a guest on the Ruang Bicara programme broadcast by Bernama TV today.

In addition, Dr Dzulkefly said the outsourcing initiative implemented by the Ministry of Health (MOH) not only helped in terms of overcoming the problem of patient overcrowding, but it was also more reasonable than the government spending a large amount of money to build new facilities.

"We cannot continue to build and build (new facilities). To reduce the waiting time for treatment, we allow private parties to offer services to us. At the same time, they also need to get the 'pricing' according to us.

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"If 'you reduce your margin', you will get the 'volume' (number of patients). Eventually your profits will also be high. If we want to build a heart centre, it will cost a lot of money. So it is reasonable to outsource," he said, adding that no cartel issues have arisen through this mobility initiative.

According to him, there are currently 91 private hospitals that provide services to the government at affordable prices.

-- BERNAMA