Private hospitals to discuss with Pharmaniaga for medicine supply

The Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) will discuss with Pharmaniaga Bhd, which manages the government's buffer stock for medicine, to obtain additional supplies they are short of.

APHM president Dr Kuljit Singh said this follows the announcement by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin to release the federal medical stockpile for use by private hospitals and clinics facing shortages.

"One of the challenges that private hospitals face with the increase of patients is a shortage of some regular medications for upper respiratory conditions.

"However, private hospitals welcome the decision made by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin to release the federal medical stockpile to private hospitals and clinics facing shortages," said Kuljit (above).

In announcing the measure, Khairy yesterday attributed the shortage to the unexpectedly high demand for medicine, especially for fever, cough, and cold compared to before Covid-19.

Apart from that, he said the shortage was also caused by the lockdowns in China and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Overall, Kuljit said APHM noted rising admissions in recent months, bringing on new challenges including a shortage of medical supplies and staff.

He said patients are seeking treatments for ailments from influenza to others requiring surgery, paid from their own pockets or covered by a medical plan.

To address a shortage in trained nurses, Kuljit said APHM and regulators will look to ease the current bureaucracy in place for hiring foreign nurses.

At the same time, he said APHM will engage with government hospitals on a resource-sharing strategy to ease the latter's constraints, particularly for elective procedures and diagnostic tests.

"Despite the current situation of full beds in private hospitals, APHM will engage with government hospitals with long waiting lists to work out a strategy to share resources in which the Health Ministry could buy services at an agreed rate, which will ease the long waiting list," he said. - Mkini