PETALING JAYA: A comprehensive dashboard that provides an overview on the Health Ministry’s manpower status in real time will be rolled out next year.
“By 2026, the Health Ministry will operate a centralised dashboard that provides both a comprehensive overview and detailed insights into the overall health of our workforce,” its minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (pic) said in his report following two years of healthcare reforms.
The dashboard will enable strategic decision-making based on three core data pillars, namely capacity or supply, equitable distribution, and attrition and retention.
The dashboard will help monitor projected workforce requirements against current supply to enable more accurate and targeted appointment planning; identify staffing gaps in real time to ensure that no critical facility experiences shortages in comparison with others, and analyse resignation trends and the effectiveness of incentives and career development pathways, to enable early intervention before critical talent exits the service.
“We acknowledge that human resource challenges can no longer be managed manually or through a one-size-fits-all approach.
“Talent leakage (attrition rate) and task distribution issues require solutions supported by accurate and granular data,” Dzulkefly said.
Meanwhile, 52 nurses have benefited from the Suka Sama Suka mutual swap programme, which came into effect in October.
Next year, the initiative for mutual posting swaps will be expanded to doctors, dentists, assistant medical officers and pharmacists.
“To resolve legacy challenges and plan for the future, MOH requires a central ‘brain’ that connects all initiatives.
“Legacy bureaucracy must be replaced with transparent, digital data systems,” he said.
Dzulkefly said the integrated dashboard, which will function as a “control tower” to monitor the implementation status of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and digitalisation initiatives across all facilities, will be in place.
“Most critically, we will harness big data to monitor the effectiveness of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) management programmes at the community level.
“By analysing granular treatment outcome data, we can design more targeted public health interventions embracing precision public health and shifting from reactive treatment towards proactive, focused, and high-impact prevention.
“We have listened to public concerns regarding congestion and comfort within healthcare facilities.
“Future solutions do not lie solely in constructing new buildings but in managing and developing existing facilities more intelligently through centralised data monitoring,” he added.
Dzulkefly said the integration of facilities data into the national dashboard will allow for the monitoring of the physical “health” and capacity of every clinic and hospital in real time.
“This will enable maintenance works, upgrades, and asset management and procurement to be planned proactively, ensuring a conducive environment for both patients and healthcare personnel.
“We will leverage big data to implement a more aggressive Decongestion Project relocating stable patients to district hospitals or procuring private healthcare services (outsourcing) at strategically appropriate locations.
“This approach will not only reduce waiting times but also ease overcrowding in tertiary hospitals, thereby enhancing overall comfort and the patient experience,” he said of the healthcare reform that aims to strengthen services and ensure a fair working environment for healthcare staff.
