INTERNET POSING HEALTH HAZARD

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 (Bernama) -- The phemomenal advancement of medical
sciences and instant advice available on the Internet is ironically posing some
risk to the well-being of patients, according to the Malaysian Medical
Association (MMA).

Dr Kuljit Singh, the editor of the MMA newsletter, said this development had
encouraged patients to be their own consultants and treat themselves because
they could get information from the net and also obtain the services of private
laboratories and pharmacies.

He said this trend was very scary because clinical medicine was becoming
less important to the patients.

A good example of this was the increase in the number of diabetics in the
country and this should be blamed on the public as they thought that they knew
how best to manage themselves, he said in the newsletter's editorial.

"What are the complications of diseases and their prevention or are patients
educated enough to know that all diseases need a holistic approach?" he said.

Dr Kuljit Singh claimed that at present, the laws governing laboratories and
pharmacies in Malaysia were "very fragile" as they could go scott free because
it was the customer that requested the services.

He called on all doctors to be united in stopping such practices as it was
detrimental to the well-being of patients and the profession.

He said the MMA would always be relevant to champion these issues and
protect the profession in the best interest of the patients so that they would
not be misled by other business entities.

Meanwhile, MMA president Dr David KL Quek, in the president’s column, said
the government needed to review the entire health care system in the country to
elevate it higher.

He hoped the health ministry would consult all stakeholders to obtain
adequate input to bring about the best consensual reforms.

Some the areas that needed attention were costs and rising expectations of
better informed patients, he said.

He noted that the public hospitals were now heavily subsidised with the
government paying 98 per cent and the patients, only two per cent.

-– BERNAMA