A study on the health economics of General Practitioners in the health care services in Malaysia: Trends, Challenges and Moving Forward

Authors

  • Kamal Kenny Kenny J Wellness Kota Kemuning Selangor
  • Zoharah Omar Department of Extension Education Faculty of Education University Putra Malaysia
  • El Sheila Kanavathi Kenny J Wellness Kota Kemuning Selangor
  • Priya Madhavan School of Medicine Taylor's University Lakeside Campus

Keywords:

General practitioners, healthcare services, clinics

Abstract

Health care systems play a vital role in providing health services and in optimising the population’s health of each nation. The Malaysian health care system primarily consists of the public and private health services. One of the prominent private health care services offered in the General Practitioner’s (GP) Clinic. Despite the prominent role GPs play in the health care system in this country, little is known about their practices, the issues and challenges faced by GPs in this country. The objectives of this study were to describe the current GP practice operations in Malaysia in terms of its general operations, financial expenditure and revenue, market competitiveness and laboratory services offered by the clinics. A cross-sectional survey design was used in this study. The study sample comprised of 1800 GPs throughout the West of Malaysia selected using convenient sampling technique. This study provides the general description of the GP operations in terms of the nature of business, operations hours, and number of patients, the third party administrator and managed care organisation linkages, financial expenditure, market competitiveness and laboratory services. The findings show the importance of GP clinics as complimentary healthcare services for the public at large.

Author Biographies

Kamal Kenny, Kenny J Wellness Kota Kemuning Selangor

Consultant

K & J Consultancy

Zoharah Omar, Department of Extension Education Faculty of Education University Putra Malaysia

Senior Lecturer

Department of Extension Education
Faculty of Education
University Putra Malaysia

 

El Sheila Kanavathi, Kenny J Wellness Kota Kemuning Selangor

Consultant

K & J Consultancy

Priya Madhavan, School of Medicine Taylor's University Lakeside Campus

Senior Lecturer

School of Medicine

Taylor's University

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Kenny, K & Madhavan, P (2016). Dispensary Separation: Perception of Public Visiting Primary Care Clinics in Malaysia, Malaysian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Volume 14 (1).

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Published

2017-04-04

How to Cite

Kenny, K., Omar, Z., Kanavathi, E. S., & Madhavan, P. (2017). A study on the health economics of General Practitioners in the health care services in Malaysia: Trends, Challenges and Moving Forward. International Journal of Public Health Research, 7(1), 765–774. Retrieved from https://spaj.ukm.my/ijphr/index.php/ijphr/article/view/72