December, 2019 | The Health
Health Business
19
Qualitas Medical Group’s expansion had reached Australia. Pictured above are the Bondi Junction Medical Practice in New South Wales, and the Centre Road
Medical Centre in Victoria.
Revolutionising
primary care
A network of clinics that streamlines the way primary
care is being delivered, Qualitas offers the best
O
ur primary care has always
been a fragmented sector of
the overall healthcare. Doc-
tors open up their practice to
cater to a specific residential
area.
The business model might be fine 20 years
ago, when all that was involved was consulta-
tion, medicine, and cash payment.
Now, however, factors such as corporatisa-
tion, insurance, third-party administrators,
and health maintenance organisations have
complicated the payment process.
The documentation process also became
much more complex, as doctors need to have
detailed information of their patients’ insur-
ance details and so on and so forth.
That was what Datuk Dr Noorul Ameen
Mohamed Ishack saw and tried to make
easier when he founded Qualitas Medical
Group.
Together in primary care
“Many doctors were having problem comply-
ing with the payment and documentation
mechanism, as they weren’t trained and did
not have the skilledstaff to do these admin-
istrative work,” says Dr Noorul.
Dr Noorul, also the Chairman and Manag-
ing Director for Qualitas, proposed a model
to streamline the process for the doctors.
“It was being talked about a lot during the
time, to make primary care more organised.
But no one really took the dive into it.”
He was able to bring big groups of physi-
cians together to find a way to make things
more organised, professionally.
“Imagine a clinic that has one or two doc-
tors attached to it. The only other staff that
they would have are nurses and perhaps an
administrative staff. I say, why not we gather
our resources and have a professional team
to handle all the back-end processes. They
include accounting, marketing, inventory
management, and acquisition of medicines.”
The idea is to have the administrative
work done professionally by a dedicated
team, and have the doctors to only focus on
delivery of care.
Clinically efficient
“We started Qualitas Medical Group in 1997.
Dr Noorul says that Qualitas Medical Group was created to fill the gaps left in
general practitioners (GPs) who are operating their own clinics, as they would
have to juggle being a physician as well as doing administrative work.
Then, we quickly started to offer our solution
to other physicians to have their clinics man-
aged professionally so that they can focus on
seeing and treating their patients.”
There was a lot of positive response, and
the business grew through acquiring various
clinics along with the physicians to be under
the Qualitas umbrella.
“It is safe to say we are the largest network
of clinics in Malaysia today.”
International expansion
In 2002, the group found there was only so
much that can be expanded here in Malaysia.
With ample market research and study,
Qualitas made a move to India to set up a
more organised primary care in the country.
Subsequently, Qualitas also expanded to
Singapore.
“After India and Singapore, we actually
made our way to New Zealand. The reception
towards our business model was so popular
there, that we were the largest network of
clinics in the country at one point in time.”
The more recent of their expansion took
them to Australia, where they opened their
doors in three states down under: New South
Imagine a clinic that has one or two
doctors attached to it. The only other
staff that they would have are nurses and
perhaps an administrative staff. I say, why
not we gather our resources and have a
professional team to handle all the back-
end processes. They include accounting,
marketing, inventory management, and
acquisition of medicines.”
Wales, Queensland, and Victoria.
“Now, we are looking to expand more
into the ASEAN countries such as Vietnam,
Cambodia, and Indonesia, among others.”
The ever-present hurdles
From the set of paragraphs above, it seems
like Qualitas was met with very few chal-
lenges as they continued their expansion
into foreign territories. Dr Noorul said
however, the challenges were always there
for them to overcome.
“There has been an increased number
of third-party organisations handling the
patients’ payment process. To adhere to each
of their terms and regulations is generally a
challenge.”
There is also the factor of governance,
whereby Qualitas must adhere to each
respective country’s policies on operating
primary care clinics.
“However, the biggest challenge faced by
Qualitas is perhaps to get doctors to be part
of the network od clinics. These doctors are
highly intelligent individuals, and it can be
difficult for them to change their ways.”
Malaysian-born and bred
Qualitas Medical Group is a company started
by Malaysians, grew in Malaysia, and is now
a significant force in primary care in Austra-
lia and New Zealand. How were they able to
achieve that?
“I have been working with the administra-
tive professionals of Qualitas for more than
20 years. They are highly knowledgeable
and capable to make things work, regard-
less of where we try to open our doors in. I
believe it is the level of expertise we have in
the organisation that makes us what we are
now.” — The Health