Cut out the middlemen in medical care

THE call to deregulate doctors’ professional fees is not new. What we at the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations, Malaysia (FPMPAM) are surprised with is the abruptness of this change in policy and whether the public will be prepared to face the disruption it will create in the present unfavourable economic situation in the country.

When the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act (PHFSA) with its Fee Schedule was enacted in 2006, we had major reservations about its purported role in controlling cost of medical care. Experience now has clearly shown that a fixed fee schedule is the wrong instrument for cost control. The same applies to the proposed ceiling pricing of medications.