PADANG BESAR: Patients nationwide who opt for postal delivery of their medicines will no longer have to pay for the service from Oct 1, with the government allocating about RM5mil to cover the costs, says Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil.
He said the initiative would be implemented through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in collaboration with the Health Ministry.
“Previously, patients had to pay for the postal delivery of medicines. But from Oct 1, they will no longer have to pay, as the cost will be fully borne by the government through MCMC,” he told reporters after visiting the National Digital Health Ecosystem and Connectivity Driver (Persada) initiative project at the Padang Besar Health Clinic here yesterday.
Fahmi said the initiative was expected to benefit about 80,000 patients a month under the Postal Medicine Delivery Programme (UMP).
In June, he was reported to have said that the government would fully bear the cost of medicine deliveries through the collaboration between MCMC and the Health Ministry.
Fahmi said the pilot electronic medical record system implemented under Persada at health facilities in Perlis had helped reduce patient waiting times.
He said the system, which had been in place in the state for four months, showed that more than 86% of patients were able to see a doctor within 60 minutes, while 62.8% did so within 30 minutes.
“It has benefited more than 200,000 patients in Perlis. I have also received some feedback on the system and provided several suggestions to ensure that it is safe to use and easy for Health Ministry staff to operate,” he said.
Fahmi said doctors no longer had to wait for patients’ medical records to be retrieved manually, as the information could be accessed through the system.
“The doctors said the system made their work easier and reduced the time spent waiting for patients’ medical records to reach them, as they are stored in the cloud, which is more secure,” he said.
Fahmi said the government plans to expand the system to other states but would first assess factors, including Internet connectivity, to ensure it could operate efficiently.
“I believe it can benefit other states, but we will look at several aspects because some states may face certain challenges. I was informed that the system requires an Internet connection of at least 100Mbps,” he said.
Meanwhile, MCMC said Persada will streamline health information sharing and pave the way for the “One Individual, One Health Record” goal, adding that shared records ensure continuity of care across different facilities while reducing waiting times.
Fahmi added that MCMC had integrated telehealth services through 17 National Information Dissemination Centres (Nadi) in Perlis, enabling residents to access certain services, including health screenings, without having to visit a health clinic.
“We will strengthen cooperation between Nadi centres under MCMC and health clinics as well as rural clinics, not only in Perlis but nationwide, to make it easier for patients to access treatment.”
