Proposed fee hike just a guideline, says Dr Voon

KUCHING: Dr William Voon says that doctors at private clinics believe in the principle of charging their patients according to their means.

Therefore, the move by the Pakatan Harapan government to increase the consultation fees of private doctors and/or doctors at private hospitals is a ‘ just a guideline’.

He, however, sidestepped the question of whether a private clinic would complain to the relevant authority if another private clinic charged less fee than it should in order to spoil the market.

“We follow (the guideline) as close as we can. I would not be led to charge unfairly,” said Dr Voon who has been running a clinic for 36 years now.

Dr Voon, who is also Malaysian Diabetes Association Sarawak branch chairman, said he was still not clear as to why the Ministry of Health ( MoH) wanted to increase the consultation fee.

He said the increasing cost of drugs might be the reason why the MoH was pressured to announce such a move.

“I do not think there will be any substantial increase in the fee. We have kept it as low as possible for many years.

“There is however a continuous increase in cost of drugs, some quite unreasonable. We have to avoid using some of them, unless necessary.

“The important thing is that our patients still get the best possible treatment at the most affordable rate without compromising their safety and well being.

“Doctor’s fees comprise consultation and medicine. Rise in cost of drugs forces doctor’s fees to rise. We are not talking about fees charged at private hospitals.

“These are way above that charged in general practice,” said Dr Voon.