Listen To Everybody In New Role As Health Minister Experts Tell Kj

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The new health minister should not only implement key policies that would improve public health but also cost-effective programmes, says a former health director-general. (File pic)KOTA KINABALU: Listen to all stakeholders in the health sector, including patients. That’s the advice given by members of the healthcare community to new health minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
Academy of Medicine of Malaysia past master Dr Yeoh Poh Hong said, from his experience, he found advising ministers “very difficult” but nonetheless urged Khairy to be different.
“I would like to plead with him to listen to all sectors,” he said during the online launch of a book titled “Malaysian Healthcare: Remedies And Maladies”, by the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM) today.
He recalled questioning a politician who had been appointed minister despite not having the right qualifications to assume that particular government portfolio.
“This particular politician told me, often the best ministers are those which do not have very much knowledge, for example, health, because then they are willing to listen.
“The politician I was criticising was not a health minister. But he said he’s a very good minister because he doesn’t think he knows everything and will listen to everybody before he makes a decision.
“That is what I would like to say, if I may, to our new health minister – listen to everybody, particularly your top advisers and those who you choose to trust, even those from the private sector.”
Dr Milton Lum.The panel was asked what they would tell the new health minister if they had a chance to speak to him.
Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) past president Dr Milton Lum had the same words of advice for Khairy.
“I would go along and say listen to everybody, not just from the ministry but also from the universities and the private sector.
“And last but not least, listen to the patients. That is something that many ministers have not done,” he said.
Former health director-general Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman said Khairy is “very intelligent and hardworking”, adding he was also effective as the vaccines minister previously.
Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman.As such, he called for the new health minister to not only implement key policies that would improve public health but also cost-effective programmes.
“I would tell Khairy ‘have a look at what New Zealand and the United States (US) are trying to do in implementing their Triple Aim,” he said, referring to programmes to improve population health while also boosting patient experience and reducing per capita costs.
“And then have a look and understand the value-based healthcare approach that would help implement the Triple Aim because the US and Malaysia are very similar.
“They (US) spend over US$4 trillion annually, and more than US$1 trillion of that is utter waste.
“So the first thing (for Khairy) is to take that approach and cut down the waste, and get a balance between health and care,” Abu said. - FMT

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