Clinics struggling, forced to close due to rising costs
Group representing GPs urge health ministry to review medical consultation fees, which they say have remained the same for the past 20 years.
PETALING JAYA: Doctors who are independent general practitioners (GPs) are struggling to stay afloat, with many having closed down their clinics due to rising costs, The Star reported today.
Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia (MPCAM) vice-president Dr Raj Kumar Maharajah said discussions are ongoing with the health ministry to increase the role of GPs.
“We talked about senior doctors practising from home instead of a registered clinic, and the rates for follow up visits, credentialling and privileging for certain procedures like circumcision,” Dr Raj told The Star, adding that MPCAM also proposed having GPs provide home visits in emergencies and for the aged.
The bottomline, however, was that professional fees for doctors must be increased, he said.
“With rising overheads, consumables, medicine, medical devices, staff salaries and licensing fees, standalone GPs are struggling to stay afloat. Many GPs have also been forced to close their clinics.
“Medicine prices increase every six months but GP fees haven’t increased for decades because we empathise with patients,” Dr Raj was quoted as saying by the daily.
He cited professional fees for private medical consultation in countries such as Australia and South Africa, where the cost ranges between RM100 and RM250, even without medication.
“But here, we charge patients RM50 for consultation plus medication,” Dr Raj said, according to The Star.
In 2012, the cabinet had approved a 14.4% increase on medical consultation under an amendment to the 13th Schedule of the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services (Private Hospitals and Other Private Healthcare Facilities) Regulations 2006.
“However, this fee hike is only applicable for specialists and not GPs.
“Although RM25 is the maximum we can charge (for consultation), GPs are only charging between RM10 and RM15 so as not to burden the rakyat,” Dr Raj was quoted as saying, adding that the fee that a GP could charge is still governed by the 1997 MMA Fee Schedule.
In their discussions with the health ministry, MPCAM had proposed that GPs be allowed to charge between RM30 and RM125 per visit, depending on the type of illness which would then determine how much time is needed with the patient.
“But even with higher GP fees, patients won’t have to pay more if we standardise medicine prices and implement bundling,” Dr Raj said referring to the bundling of consultation, diagnosis and treatment.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr John Chew told The Star, GP fees must be reviewed as the Consumer Price Index had gone up by 40 points in the last 20 years.
Besides that, he said GPs are also struggling because they cannot pass the cost of GST to patients, and due to the rising medical liability insurance premiums.
Health ministry deputy director-general Dr Jeyaindran Sinnadurai also weighed-in on the issue saying that the ministry was studying the proposed fee revision.
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“What they’re asking for isn’t exorbitant. It’s in line with what other professionals are charging,” he told The Star, adding that patients need not worry about paying more even if the fee was revised.