Latest news with #DrShanmuganathan
Free Malaysia Today
17-05-2025
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
No policy change on itemised billing, says health ministry
The health ministry said itemised billing is only required if requested by patients, as outlined under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998. PETALING JAYA : The health ministry has confirmed that there are no new policy changes regarding itemised billing for private healthcare facilities and community pharmacies. The clarification follows confusion caused by a ministry officer's comments during a TikTok Live session, where private general practitioners (GPs) and specialist clinics were told to issue itemised bills. In a statement, the ministry explained that itemised billing is only required if requested by patients, as outlined under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998. 'Patients have the right to request an itemised bill, which must be provided without additional charges,' said the ministry. 'This helps patients understand the breakdown of charges for services, treatments and medications.' On May 15, the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners' Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM) criticised the ministry for issuing instructions through social media. During the TikTok session, Redzuan Rizal, a senior officer with the ministry's pharmaceutical services division, said patients were entitled to clear information on healthcare charges. He also encouraged clinics to issue itemised bills, aligning with the mandatory drug price display rule introduced on May 1. FPMPAM president Dr Shanmuganathan TV Ganeson had called the statement an 'overreach,' stressing that no formal directive or legal amendment had been made. He added that billing falls under clinical governance, not the pharmaceutical division, and noted that itemised bills were already available on request.
Free Malaysia Today
15-05-2025
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
Stop giving instructions through social media, private GPs tell health ministry
The private doctors' group said that unbundling services to comply with forced itemised billing could drive up costs for patients. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : A private doctors' group has called on the health ministry to stop issuing instructions to medical practitioners through social media. This follows a TikTok Live session in which Redzuan Rizal, a senior officer with the ministry's pharmaceutical services programme, instructed private general practitioners (GPs) and specialist clinics to implement itemised billing. The Federation of Private Medical Practitioners' Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM) described the announcement as 'a gross overreach' made without any formal directive, circular, or legal amendment. 'It disregards the established regulatory framework that governs private medical practice in Malaysia,' its president, Dr Shanmuganathan TV Ganeson, said in a statement today. 'Doctors are not retailers. We are licensed under the Medical Act 1971 and regulated by the Malaysian Medical Council, while private medical clinics fall under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 (Act 586), not the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 (Act 723).' Shanmuganathan said billing matters fall under clinical governance, not pharmaceutical jurisdiction, and pointed out that itemised bills are already available upon request under existing guidelines. He warned that enforcing itemised billing without a clear legal mandate could force clinics to break down charges for every tool, consumable and procedure — driving up costs for patients. In the TikTok session on the @MyHealthKKM channel, Redzuan reportedly said patients have the right to detailed information about the charges imposed on them. He encouraged clinics to issue detailed bills in line with the mandatory display of drug prices that took effect on May 1. The rule has received pushback from various doctors' groups that have submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister's Office. In their memorandum, the GPs demanded that the government remove private clinics from the purview of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act and review the consultation fees of GPs. The health ministry had said the use of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act for drug price displays aimed to promote transparency and affordability, not disrupt the work of private GPs.
Malay Mail
15-05-2025
- Health
- Malay Mail
‘Doctors are not retailers': Private GPs hits out at Health Ministry's billing push via TikTok Live
KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — A controversial TikTok Live broadcast, purportedly by a senior Health Ministry officer, has drawn backlash from private doctors, who accuse the ministry of bypassing legal channels to impose new billing requirements on clinics. The Federation of Private Medical Practitioners' Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM) said the guidance given by Mohemmad Redzuan Mohd Rizal, a senior officer from the Pharmaceutical Services Programme (PSP), over a TikTok Live session, was inappropriate and lacked legal basis. 'This announcement, made over social media without any formal directive, circular, or legal amendment, is a gross overreach,' FPMPAM president Dr Shanmuganathan Ganeson said in a statement today. The group stressed that doctors operate under different legislation – namely the Medical Act 1971 and the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 (Act 586) – and not the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 (Act 723), which typically governs retail pricing and is under the purview of the Domestic Trade Ministry. 'Doctors are not retailers. The itemisation of consultation fees, procedures, and medications is a matter of clinical governance – not pharmaceutical jurisdiction,' Dr Shanmuganathan said. He added that while itemised billing is currently available upon request, making it mandatory without proper legislative backing or stakeholder consultation was 'legally flawed and professionally inappropriate.' FPMPAM also warned that unbundling services to comply with forced itemisation could lead to higher costs for patients – the opposite of the government's goal of improving affordability. The group wants MOH to: Clarify the scope and application of Act 723 in relation to private clinics Stop issuing unofficial instructions via social media platforms Engage healthcare stakeholders in proper consultation before any enforcement measures. 'We support ethical transparency but reject attempts to reduce medical care to a retail transaction,' said Dr Shanmuganathan, adding that healthcare must remain patient-centred and professionally regulated. MOH has yet to publicly respond to the concerns raised.
