GEDONG: Sarawak will work closely with the federal Health Ministry to provide healthcare facilities in the state, including allocating funds where necessary, says Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg.
He said the cooperation included expanding the digitalisation of public health clinics and provision of mobile dental clinics, based on the ministry’s recommendation.
For example, he said, the ministry currently has eight mobile dental clinics serving the state.
“Our remote areas are now connected by road and bridges. We can work together to increase the number of mobile dental buses,” he told reporters after launching the state-level cloud-based clinic management system (CCMS) here yesterday.
Abang Johari said the Sarawak government had already allocated RM10mil for the implementation of CCMS at 153 health clinics in the state.
Asked if the state government would provide more funds to implement the system in the remaining healthcare facilities, he said it would not be a problem.
“It depends on what they need. We financed the RM10mil because it was what they needed,” he said.
Abang Johari added that the digitalisation initiative reduced bureaucracy for the healthcare profession, enabling patients to be served more efficiently.
“To visit a doctor in the clinic takes less than 30 minutes for the whole process,” he said.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (pic), who was also present, said Sarawak was the leading state in implementing CCMS, with 153 healthcare facilities equipped with the system and 70% of patient records digitalised.
Nationwide, the system has been deployed in over 300 healthcare facilities, with plans for its expansion to 2,489 primary healthcare facilities this year.
“This initiative aims to eliminate reliance on burdensome manual systems while establishing a strong digital foundation for the national healthcare system,” Dzulkefly said in his speech.
He said preliminary data from CCMS indicated that 75% of patients in Sarawak received treatment within 30 minutes, while the remaining 25% were attended to within 30 to 60 minutes.
