Thursday 28 Mar 2024
By
main news image

(April 24): Health Minister Datuk Seri S. Subramaniam today urged Malaysians to ignore rumours regarding the proposal to separate medical and dispensary services.

He said the idea was still at the discussion stage and assumptions that the proposal would become reality were false.

"Before any decision was made, people thought and assumed that the we had gone to Parliament and tabled it.

"All these are wrong assumptions.

"Don't respond to rumours," he said, after opening the 9th Asean conference on primary health care this morning.

Subramaniam said he had also received a memorandum from various medical groups who were against the separation proposal.

"People don't have to fear.

"At the present moment, the current system will continue," he said.

The proposal by pharmaceutical groups for dispensing to be left to pharmacists came to light last month, and received hue and cry from various groups including medical profesionals and opposition leaders such as Kuala Kedah MP, Dr Azman Ismail, who heads PKR's health and science bureau, and Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar.

Under the scheme, only pharmacies are allowed to dispense medicine, mirroring the practice in developed countries such as the United Kingdom.

Doctors will diagnose and prescribe the medicine needed, and patients will have to get their medicines at pharmacies.

Subramaniam said ammendments to the Pharmacy Act, that are currently underway, did not involve the proposal for separating medical and dispensary service.

He said the ammendments in preserving the current system would be ensured to ensure patient safety.

"Whatever it is, people have a right to higher standards of dispension. So, doctors should improve their system to ensure their practice is reasonable and in line with higher standards," he said, adding that this meant training of staff and keeping updated about latest developments in the field.

"Medicine is changing day to day, they must ensure those being trained are also up kept up to date," he said.

On another note, Subramaniam also defended the RM100 million "Tak Nak" campaign against smoking, saying the Ministry would continue with it "or else there will be more people smoking".

He said the ultimate challenge in curbing smoking was tackling the behavioral habits of smokers.

"I don't think any Malaysian who smokes is not aware of the dangers, including some doctors who smoke.

"It is behavioral and there is a gap between the knowledge and change in behaviuor," he said, adding that he had instructed the ministry's health education division to undertake a study on the human mind. – The Malaysian Insider

      Print
      Text Size
      Share