In 1998, Malaysia opened its first hospital based on the "paperless and filmless" concept. Two are now in operation, with more to follow. Telemedicine is now being used in some hospitals and is slated to be the technology to watch. Future use of technology in health care will centre on the use of centralised patient databases and more effective use of artificial intelligence. Stumbling blocks include the enormous capital costs involved and difficulty in getting sufficient bandwidth to support applications on a national scale. Problems with the use of information technology in developing countries still remain; mainly inadequate skilled resources to operate and maintain the technology, lack of home-grown technology, insufficient experience in the use of information technology in health care and the attitudes of some health staff. The challenge for those involved in this field will not be in building new "paperless and filmless" institutions but in transforming current "paper and film-based" institutions to "paperless and filmless" ones and changing the mindset of health staff. Universities and medical schools must be prepared to respond to this new wave by incorporating elements of medical/health informatics in their curriculum and assisting governments in the planning and implementation of these projects. The experience of the UMMC is highlighted as an example of the difficulty of transforming a paper-based hospital to a "paperless and filmless" hospital.
Matched MeSH terms: Delivery of Health Care/trends*
Asia is important as it accounts for more than half of the world population. The majority of Asian countries fall into the middle income category. As for cultural traditions, Asia is highly varied, with many languages spoken. The pattern of neurologic diseases in Asia is largely similar to the West, with some disease features being specific to Asia. Whereas Asia constitutes 60% of the world's population, it contains only 20% of the world's neurologists. This disparity is particularly evident in South and South East Asia. As for neurologic care, it is highly variable depending on whether it is an urban or rural setting, the level of economic development, and the system of health care financing. To help remedy the shortage of neurologists, most counties with larger populations have established training programs in neurology. These programs are diverse, with many areas of concern. There are regional organizations serving as a vehicle for networking in neurology and various subspecialties, as well as an official journal (Neurology Asia). The Asian Epilepsy Academy, with its emphasis on workshops in various locations, EEG certification examination, and fellowships, may provide a template of effective regional networking for improving neurology care in the region.
Matched MeSH terms: Delivery of Health Care/trends*
Nepal experiences several medicine-use problems like any other developing country. In the recent years, there have been initiatives to introduce the concept of social pharmacy in Nepal, and there has been only a limited research in this area. The staff members at the Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara have shown keen interest in initiating several social pharmacy-related researches in the country. The members of this institute have been collaborating with two international universities, namely Universiti Sains Malaysia located in Malaysia and Chulalongkorn University located in Thailand, to get academic and technical supports. In this manuscript, the authors share their experiences in initiating social pharmacy research in the country. Authors have also mentioned the priority areas of social pharmacy research in Nepal and the importance of initiating this concept in the country.
Matched MeSH terms: Delivery of Health Care/trends*
The recent history of healthcare privatisation and corporatisation in Malaysia, an upper middle-income developing country, highlights the complicit role of the state in the rise of corporate healthcare. Following upon the country's privatisation policy in the 1980s, private capital made significant inroads into the healthcare provider sector. This paper explores the various ownership interests in healthcare provision: statist capital, rentier capital, and transnational capital, as well as the contending social and political forces that lie behind state interests in the privatisation of healthcare, the growing prominence of transnational activities in healthcare, and the regional integration of capital in the healthcare provider industry. Civil society organizations provide a small but important countervailing force in the contention over the future of healthcare in the country. It is envisaged that the healthcare financing system will move towards a social insurance model, in which the state has an important regulating role. The important question, therefore, is whether the Malaysian government, with its vested interests, will have the capacity and the will to play this role in a social insurance system. The issues of ownership and control have important implications for governance more generally in a future healthcare system.
Matched MeSH terms: Delivery of Health Care/trends
The Malaysian health care system is a success story among countries of equivalent socio-economic status. However there are numerous challenges faced by the nation, which create the need for changes and reform. There is rising consumer demands and expectations for high technology and high cost medical care due to improved standards of living, changing disease patterns and demographic changes, inadequate integration of health services, maldistribution of resources and the threats as well as opportunities of globalisation and liberalisation. The changes in health policy, priorities and planning for the country are guided by the country's development policies, objectives and the challenges of Vision 2020, Vision for Health and the goals of the health system in ensuring universal access, improving equity and efficiency and the quality of life of the population. The essential services in the health system of the future are information and education of individuals to empower support for the wellness paradigm. There is also a need to restructure the national health care financing and the health care delivery system. The present roles and responsibilities of MOH also need to be reviewed.
Matched MeSH terms: Delivery of Health Care/trends*
This article is concerned with the establishment and extension of health care and medical services in British colonial Malaya. Initially, medical care was provided for the colonial elite and those in their direct employment. With the expansion of colonial control beyond trade centers into the hinterland and with the growth of agriculture and mining. Western medicine was extended both to labor involved in these export industries and to others whose ill health might jeopardize the welfare of the colonists. Public health programs in the twentieth century continued to focus on medical problems that had direct impact on the colonial economy, but programs were extended to ensure the reproduction as well as the maintenance of the labor force. This article develops the notion of a legitimation vacuum, and the role of the state provision of social services, including medical services, in legitimizing colonial presence and control.
Matched MeSH terms: Delivery of Health Care/trends
Acute stroke care systems in Southeast Asian countries are at various stages of development, with disparate treatment availability and practice in terms of intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular therapy. With the advent of successful endovascular therapy stroke trials over the past decade, the pressure to revise and advance acute stroke management has greatly intensified. Southeast Asian patients exhibit unique stroke features, such as increased susceptibility to intracranial atherosclerosis and higher prevalence of intracranial haemorrhage, likely secondary to modified vascular risk factors from differing dietary and lifestyle habits. Accordingly, the practice of acute endovascular stroke interventions needs to take into account these considerations. Acute stroke care systems in Southeast Asia also face a unique challenge of huge stroke burden against a background of ageing population, differing political landscape and healthcare systems in these countries. Building on existing published data, further complemented by multi-national interaction and collaboration over the past few years, the current state of acute stroke care systems with existing endovascular therapy services in Southeast Asian countries are consolidated and analysed in this review. The challenges facing acute stroke care strategies in this region are discussed.
Matched MeSH terms: Delivery of Health Care/trends*
Quantitative estimates for the global impact of COVID-19 on the diagnosis and management of patients with inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) are lacking. We collected relevant data from 16 specialized medical centers treating IEM patients in Europe, Asia and Africa. The median decline of reported IEM related services in March 1st-May 31st 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 were as high as 60-80% with a profound impact on patient management and care for this vulnerable patient group. More representative data along with outcome data and guidelines for managing IEM disorders under such extraordinary circumstances are needed.
Matched MeSH terms: Delivery of Health Care/trends