Doctors welcome ‘long overdue’ regulations

PETALING JAYA: Lauding the Medical (Amendment) Act 2012 and Medical Regulations 2017, doctors say it would improve the quality of practitioners and benefit patients.

Malaysian Medical Association president Dr Ravindran R. Naidu said the association welcomed the long overdue regulations.

“Making continued professional development compulsory is important for doctors to keep themselves updated while the compulsory indemnity will protect both doctors and patients. However, we would have preferred it if the Government came up with a no-fault insurance scheme as is done in New Zealand and some Scandinavian countries,” he said.

On the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) being corporatised, Dr Ravindran said MMA preferred a completely independent council with more elected members, including the president, than appointed members.

“The hiring for the post of CEO should also be advertised and an interview conducted to choose the best candidate,” he said, adding he hoped to see representation from private medical university colleges, which were now absent.

Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations Malaysia president Dr Steven Chow said it fully supports professional indemnity for all registered medical practitioners, including those in public service.

He also said the Annual Practising Certificate (APC) renewal must be accompanied by the upgrading of the current renewal system, which was showing signs of inability to cope.

“Up to March this year some doctors were complaining that they had yet to receive their APCs for 2017,” he said.

Dr Chow said the mandatory requirement for all specialists to be registered with the National Specialist Register was a positive development.

“With the corporatisation of the MMC, we look forward to it being more efficient in processing, managing and making decisions regarding complaints against doctors,” he said, adding that the current system was too cumbersome and time-consuming.

Former Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said the Act was deliberated during his tenure as the director-general from 2005 to 2011, and it took a while before the regulations came into force.

“I agree with all the provisions to ensure credibility and professionalism of the practitioners, and safeguard the public against dubious doctors,” he said.