The Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy (Galen) said the proposal suffered from many pitfalls, including a lack of capacity in government facilities, especially in terms of doctors, nurses and diagnostic equipment.
“This (private) wing could take away much needed resources from the main patient load,” Galen CEO Azrul Khalib told FMT.
Last week, health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad suggested that the health ministry is hoping to offer full-paying patient (FPP) services at public hospitals to boost revenue.
He was quoted by CodeBlue as saying that the initiative would target the M40 income group, adding that the government intends to establish Rakan MOH, a special-purpose vehicle within the ministry to run the programme.
Azrul was confident the proposal would generate revenue, but questioned whether it would be enough to cover the full cost of providing the services.
“The FPP concept has been around since 2007. The effectiveness of the programme needs to be evaluated based on that experience,” he said.
He suggested that the government discontinue the existing RM1 consultation fees charged by public healthcare facilities, saying the revenue raised “will never be enough”. Instead, he called on Putrajaya to introduce health and social insurance to raise new funds for health and aged care.
Asked if he had any concerns over medical practitioners prioritising private wing patients over those in the public arm of the hospital, Azrul said professionals must be trusted to balance their time fairly between the two.
“However, telling them to do FPP after their main shift is over or on overtime is a bad idea,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) said it is awaiting details of the programme from the ministry, including the targeted launch date and the criteria for selection of hospitals.
FPP services are currently available in five public hospitals in the Klang Valley – Putrajaya Hospital, Ampang Hospital, Selayang Hospital, Sultan Idris Shah Serdang Hospital and Sungai Buloh Hospital.
The Penang Hospital, Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Sabah, the Sarawak Heart Centre, as well as Sultanah Aminah Hospital and Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor also offer FPP services.
MMA president Dr Kalwinder Singh Khaira said, the initiative, if properly implemented, could benefit a large percentage of the M40 group who may be willing to pay for an upgrade in services provided it is within their means.
However, he said any implementation of the programme must not affect the quality of care rendered by public hospitals.
“It should also not be perceived by the public that the quality of care will be higher at private wings compared to the government’s public facilities as all doctors and specialists serving in the country are trained in the public healthcare system,” he said.
Kalwinder said the health ministry must come up with clear guidelines on the recruitment processes to allow all qualified and interested specialists to participate in the service, as a means to motivate them to remain in public service.
Minimal competition for private hospitals
Dr Kuljit Singh, president of the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia, said the proposed expansion of private wings at government-run hospitals would pose minimal competitive concerns for private facilities. He said it was more likely to foster collaboration.
“Although these private wings may generate revenue and attract specialists, they will also benefit from government-negotiated discounts on medications and equipment, rendering their services more affordable than those of private hospitals,” he said in a statement.
“Nevertheless, this should not be employed as a price comparison mechanism with privately-owned institutions, as the financial dynamics and procurement model in purely privately owned healthcare facilities are not supported by taxpayers.”