Doctors call for grace period, clarity over sudden medicine price display rule
The government has been called upon to instruct enforcement officers to adopt a non-punitive, educational approach during the initial period of implementation. – AFP file photo
KUCHING (May 1): The Federation of Private Medical Practitioners' Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM) has urged the government to issue a formal written directive for a reasonable implementation window for the mandatory medicine price display regulation.
Its president Dr Shanmuganathan TV Ganeson said the government should instruct enforcement officers to adopt a non-punitive, educational approach during the initial period of implementation.
'The government should also engage GP (general practitioners) associations immediately to co-develop fair and workable compliance guidelines,' he said in a statement today.
The statement was issued in response to the unexpected gazettement of the mandatory medicine price display regulation under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 (Act 723), which is scheduled to come into effect on May 1.
Dr Shanmuganathan said no grace period was provided under the gazetted regulation and this means that enforcement officers, particularly from the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, may initiate action against clinics immediately, based on their own interpretations of compliance.
He said the absence of an official implementation window or transitional directive had created a dangerous legal grey area.
'Frontline GP and specialist clinics, many of which serve B40 and M40 communities, are now legally exposed, despite making good faith efforts to adapt.
'Without time to restructure billing, train staff or engage patients, doctors face the risk of being wrongly penalised or accused of profiteering, simply for struggling to interpret and apply a complex new requirement,' he explained.
According to Dr Shanmuganathan, this regulation compels clinics to unbundle every aspect of care including consultation (per illness or complaint), medications (individually priced) as well as consumables, procedures, documentation and operational overheads.
He said this will result in longer and more itemised bills, which may be misinterpreted by patients as fee inflation, when in fact, the bundled subsidies clinics used to provide are no longer permitted.
As such, he advised all private clinics to begin itemising fees for consultation, medicine and services to the best of their ability and display medicine pricing in good faith, even partially, with clear explanations to patients.
He said they should keep records of all compliance efforts such as price lists, staff briefings and system changes and document any enforcement visits including names of officers, instructions given, and basis of alleged non-compliance.
He added that they should also report incidents to FPMPAM and state societies promptly for legal tracking and support.
Dr Shanmuganathan stressed that clinics should continue to act professionally, ethically and defensively, protecting both patients and staff while adapting under pressure.
'Doctors are not the cause of inflation, we are the first responders of Malaysia's health system,' he said.
He pledged that FPMPAM will continue to protect ethical practice, legal clarity and patient access in the face of regulatory overreach, adding: 'These are challenging times for GPs, especially. The struggle should be continued.'
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The Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy previously warned that the rule could lead more consumers to request prescriptions and buy medicines at lower prices from pharmacies. Its chief executive, Azrul Mohd Khalib, said while patients had every right to do so, this trend could undermine clinics' sustainability, as consultation fees remained low. "GPs hesitate to itemise every charge — nursing, registration, equipment use — for fear of alienating patients or appearing to overcharge," he said. AN ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION Both Dr Shanmuganathan and Dr Boo said Malaysia should adopt a national health scheme to address the crisis. In the United Kingdom, the National Health Service is funded primarily through general taxation, supported by National Insurance contributions. These fund services such as GP visits, hospital care and prescriptions. 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"Doctors with the same qualifications should be paid fairly and equitably for the same scope of work."
