Currently, he said, there were 23,329 medical assistants in the country, with a ratio of 1:1,400 population.

“The shortage of medical assistants causes an increase in workload, as they have to work overtime and, indirectly, it can affect the quality of health service delivery,” he said when opening the Medical Assistants Day 2023 at the health ministry here.

Lukanisman also said the number of medical assistants with degree qualifications was still small currently, at less than 10%.

The ministry is targeting to hire more degree holders for the position, to increase the ratio to 75% by 2030, he added.

According to Lukanisman, the government has met with several public and private universities to consider providing a degree programme for medical assistants.

Currently, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin and Malaysia Open University have special degree-level programmes for medical assistants.

Meanwhile, Lukanisman said Malaysia will host “The Global Association of Clinical Officers and Physician Associates” conference in Putrajaya in June.