Reducing medical complaints and litigation in Malaysia: turning patients' voices into opportunities

One of the most important ironies of modern health care is that public expectations are rising faster than the ability of health services to meet them. Patients nowadays no longer want to be treated as passive recipients of medical care but as co-producers or partners able to manage their illnesses. Thus, it is not surprising that poor communication and failure to take into account the patient's perspective are at the heart of most formal complaints and legal actions in Malaysia. The difficulties of existing complaint procedures in Malaysia have become manifest over the years and this has been accentuated by patients becoming more willing to challenge the decisions of medical practitioners and health service management in court. To reduce the number of complaints and risks of litigation, a more patient-centred approach should be adopted. When patients voice their concern by making a complaint or inquiry, this should be seen as a unique source of information for health care services on why adverse events occur and how to prevent them. As well as reducing future harm to patients, better management of complaints should restore trust and reduce the risk of litigation, through open communication and a commitment to learn from the problem. The existing procedures for patients to be heard in Malaysia should be reviewed and incorporate features such as responsiveness, accessibility, impartiality, simplicity, speed and accountability.