NHMS 2025 survey to focus on elderly health, runs from July 22 to Sept 21
He said NHMS 2025, which aims to assess the health status of senior citizens in Malaysia in line with the 'ageing well' concept, will cover approximately 16,700 randomly selected households nationwide.
"The main modules in this NHMS cover three key domains, namely the mental health domain, which includes cognitive, dementia, and geriatric depression screenings.
"The physical domain includes daily activities, instrumental activities of daily living, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol levels, other chronic diseases, sarcopenia, and frailty; while the social domain covers informal caregiver burden, social support, quality of life, and ageing well," he said in a statement here on Friday (July 25).
He said 43 teams have been deployed to collect data through face-to-face interviews, self-administered questionnaires, and clinical assessments involving approximately 5,000 respondents.
"…(clinical assessments) include blood pressure measurement, finger-prick blood sampling (to screen for cholesterol and blood sugar levels), and sarcopenia assessments, including handgrip strength, muscle mass percentage, and the 30-second chair stand test," he said.
The findings from NHMS 2025 are expected to provide detailed insights into the health status of the elderly population in the country, enabling the Health Ministry to assess priority policies and national health programme strategies.
Lukanisman also called on all parties, particularly government agencies, healthcare professionals, researchers, and community leaders, to collaborate in this mission to ensure that the elderly can lead healthy, meaningful, and productive lives. - Bernama
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Daily Express
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Malaysia's healthcare at a tipping point as costs surge
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Private hospital charges are often perceived as excessive, yet data shows they operate on modest post-tax margins of between 7% and 11%—lower than the margins reported by insurers (13%), pharmaceutical firms (15%), and MedTech companies (16%). Up to 90% of private hospital earnings is reinvested in infrastructure, equipment and staffing. This reinvestment is critical in a competitive environment where retaining skilled specialists has become increasingly difficult. Healthcare costs are rising in part because hospitals must bear the cost of globally-priced technologies, imported drugs and rising wages. Meanwhile, the public system remains severely overburdened. Over 70% of Malaysians depend on public healthcare, where the doctor-to-patient ratio exceeds 1,500:1. Those who can afford private treatment gain faster access and a more personalised care environment, complementing the essential services offered by public hospitals. Medical bills also vary depending on a patient's health profile. A young, healthy individual will naturally incur lower costs than an elderly patient with multiple chronic conditions. However, variations are driven by the complexity of treatment, not arbitrary pricing. The insurance factor Patients are often taken aback by the cost of private treatment, particularly in insured cases. However, these outcomes are frequently the result of how insurance policies are structured. Hospitals usually charge the same base prices for treatments regardless of whether a patient pays out-of-pocket or via insurance. However, insurance companies often negotiate business-to-business (B2B) discounts with hospitals premised on patient volume. In such cases, the final bill that an insured patient incurs would likely be lower than the standard rate. Before admission, hospitals typically offer patients an estimated treatment cost based on the clinical recommendations of doctors. 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'On the demand side, an ageing population and the rise in chronic non-communicable diseases are important factors. They require a huge amount of resources—especially in the long term—to treat. 'On the supply side, new technologies, specialised equipment and treatment, and the development of new drugs are also costly,' he told FMT. He said the insurance sector must also be subject to scrutiny as some policyholders have seen premiums rise by as much as 50% over three years—well above official caps. When insurance coverage lapses or is exhausted, patients often fall back on the public system. This shift is especially pronounced in cases of recurring illnesses like cancer, where policies typically cover only the initial diagnosis. Transparency vs. reality in medical billing Unlike retail products, medical costs can't always be quoted upfront. Treatments may evolve in real-time depending on a patient's condition, complications and their recovery trajectory. 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