DECEMBER , 2022 | THE HEALTH

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Contact lens innovation Pioneers in meeting eye health needs with first-in-class contact lens innovations

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Driving eye care and eye health standards Elevating eye care and eye health standards through stakeholder collaborations and professional development

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A trailblazing endeavour by UKM The university ’ s virtual reality platform signifies academic and industry synergy in confronting IR4.0 in teaching medicine

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Post-sepsis : Food for thought What you need to do to gradually recover from a bout of sepsis

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Addressing bullying from a clinical perspective The presence of underlying psychological disorders needs to be addressed and treated accordingly

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Crossing fingers and paws for Parkinson ’ s disease Sniffer dogs are being taught to see whether they can detect Parkinson ’ s disease by their sense of smell

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Politicians face physical , mental health challenges We sometimes wonder how politicians can survive the stress and what their health secret is

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Our amazing brain Your brain is a high-end computer , and there are several things you can do to optimise its performance

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Telepharmacy is a value-added service With the rise in digital technology , telepharmacy has gained more attention globally from researchers , stakeholders , regulators , healthcare professionals and the public

| The Health says ... |

Dr Zaliha ’ s task is indeed daunting . Malaysia is still plagued by healthcare issues such as rising healthcare costs , long waiting times at public hospitals , medication disruptions , shortage of doctors and nurses , and other imbalances in the workforce .

Her other important priorities will be promoting a healthy lifestyle and mental health issues . It is critical for her and the new administration to address these issues headon .

One of Dr Zaliha ’ s early initiatives was the implementation of body cameras for the Health Ministry ’ s Public Health and Pharmacy enforcement officers . However , it promptly raised concerns about privacy issues and potential abuse .

While such initiatives are praiseworthy , her immediate task should be to ensure the Ministry of Health ( MoH ) is given a higher allocation in Budget 2023 . Without the funds , it would be difficult to resolve many pressing healthcare issues .

Access to affordable healthcare is the right of every Malaysian . With an equitable national health insurance scheme , all Malaysian will finally reap the benefits without burdening the government ’ s finances .

Dr Zaliha is fortunate that she can rely on experienced and competent civil servants heading the MoH to advise and assist her . Despite seeing a change of three health ministers in the last four years , these civil servants have been steadfast and efficient in their delivery .

Recently , three former Health Ministers , Khairy Jamaluddin , Tan Sri Dr S . Subramaniam and Datuk Seri Zulkefly Ahmad , came together at a forum titled “ Build the world we want : A healthy future for all ”. They unanimously urged the new government to implement structural and effective healthcare reforms .

Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni , who officiated the forum , assured that any proposed and existing policies that benefitted the people , such as the Health White Paper , will be pursued .

That ’ s good news . If a proposed policy or reform is good for the people , it should be adopted . Healthcare issues should never be politicised .

The government ’ s efforts should cut across social , racial and religious barriers . Healthcare is for all .

After all , a healthy nation is a wealthy nation .