The Health | MARCH, 2019
06
Current News
Are Malaysians
ready for old age?
Homage, the caregiving services
platform that melds qualified care
professionals with smart technology
to provide on-demand home caregiv-
ing for seniors has officially launched
in Malaysia. The company is rolling-
out its solution in Kuala Lumpur and
selected areas in Selangor, with a view
to expand to other states in Malaysia
in the near future.
The launch also featured a panel
discussion comprising experts from
academia and the government, dis-
cussing ‘How Malaysia is preparing
for its Ageing Future?’ The panel
featured a variety of insights from
Prof Dato Dr Tengku Aizan Hamid
[Director, Institute of Gerontology,
University Putra Malaysia; Supreme
Management Committee Member,
National Welfare and Development
Council of Malaysia (MAKPEM)], Dr
Rajini Sooryanarayana (Public Health
Medicine Specialist & Researcher,
Institute for Public Health, the
Malaysian Ministry of Health), Gillian
Tee (CEO and Co-Founder, Homage)
and Vijitha Sivanjanam (Care Profes-
sional, Homage).
All of Homage’s caregivers – which
the company refers to as Care Profes-
sionals – in Malaysia are Malaysian
citizens from diverse backgrounds
who have met stringent selection
criteria. This includes multi-tiered
interview processes, thorough
From left: Gillian Tee, Prof
Dato Dr Tengku Aizan Hamid,
Vijitha Sivanjanam, Dr Rajini
Sooryanarayana.
background checks as well as training
sessions that have been recognised by
established local partners such as the
International Medical College.
Then, by using smart technology,
Homage’s proprietary matching
engine links it’s Care Professional
with care recipients according to
their specific needs – from the type
Nurses doing
footcare test
on one of the
attendees at
the forum.
Diabetes awareness
roadshow pleases crowds
Roadshow organised by Diabetes
Malaysia and supported by Pfizer
Malaysia recorded attendance by 787
Malaysians over six stops around the
country Diabetes Malaysia recently
concluded the Blue Socks public educa-
tion roadshow, a six-city roadshow
held across Malaysia with support
from Pfizer Malaysia. Organised to
raise awareness among diabetics, their
families and the public on painful Dia-
betic Peripheral Neuropathy (pDPN),
a common diabetes complication, the
roadshow series kicked off in August
2018 in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur,
followed by stops in Georgetown,
Sandakan, Kuching, Johor Bahru and
Seremban.
In total, the roadshows were able to
create awareness on pDPN among 787
visitors across all stops.
Often called the forgotten compli-
cation, pDPN – a type of neuropathic
pain seen in patients with diabetic
neuropathy, is one of the most frequent
complications of diabetes. As many as
one in five patients with diabetes may
have pDPN, with symptoms including
numbness, and burning and tingling
(pins and needles) sensations. pDPN
can potentially lead to amputations as
patients with the condition are more
likely to develop foot ulcers due to
unnoticed and untreated foot injuries.
“In Malaysia, the burden of diabetes
is a heavy one, with as many as 22.5% of
adults having the condition. Increasingly
younger people are also being diagnosed.
With diabetes being a progressive
disease, it is more important than ever
to ensure good disease management
from the earliest stage, to avoid serious
of ailment and treatment needed to
language preferences. Available on
web and mobile, Homage’s platorm
utilises real-time home care data to
provide 24/7 visibility between the
care recipients, care owners and care
professionals. This allows for full vis-
ibility on the persons being cared for
and helps to ease the entire caregiving
process; such as managing visits, pay-
ments and care reporting.
Homage’s rates for Activities of
Daily Living starts from RM28/ hour
and Basic Nursing Care rate starts
from RM33/ hour. — The Health
complications in later years.”
“It is crucial to create greater aware-
ness on pDPN, which is one of the most
common diabetes complications and
can result in amputation if untreated.
Thus, the Blue Socks public education
roadshow could be the effective eye
opener to help diabetics maintain their
mobility and independence in the long
term,” said K.S. Maniam, Assistant
General Secretary of Diabetes Malaysia.
“We are heartened that the Blue
Socks public education roadshow was
able to educate so many people around
Malaysia about pDPN. At Pfizer, we
believe in working together for a
healthier world, and we are using initia-
tives such as this, in collaboration with
Diabetes Malaysia to support diabetes
patients and their families, with knowl-
edge that helps them maintain a their
quality of life through proper disease
management and treatments,” said
Azwar Kamarudin, Corporate Affairs,
Lead, Pfizer Malaysia.
The Blue Socks campaign follows a
compelling survey released in 2017 on
the perception of patients and doctors
on pDPN in Southeast Asia. The survey
found that the top three reasons why
patients in Malaysia waited for an aver-
age of 1.7 years after their first pain
symptom before discussing it with their
doctor were:
• Unaware that diabetes can cause
pDPN
• Fearful about the additional cost of
treatment
• Have limited consultation time with
their doctors, which prevented them
from addressing their chronic pain
issue. — The Health
Briefs
Death by diphtheria in
Johor Bahru
The Ministry of Health (MOH) would like
to announce a death of a two-year-old
child in Johor Bahru, strongly suspected
to be caused by diphtheria in February
21 2019. The child never received any
immunisation injection since birth. The
child exhibited symptoms which includes
fever, coughing, and swollen tonsils of
February 16.
The child was brought into emergency
on February 18 in a weakened state, and
was brought into the Paediatrics’ Intensive
Care Unit (ICU) for respiratory assistance
and treatment for diphtheria antitoxin.
Unfortunately, the child couldn’t be saved
on time and was pronounced dead on
February 21. The death was categorised
as severe diphtheria with multiorgan
failure. Swab test of the throat revealed the
presence of Corynebacterium diphtheria,
and the ministry is currently waiting on test
results to confirm diphtheria toxicity.
Diphtheria is caused by a bacterial
infection Corynebacterium diphtheria,
resulting in symptoms which includes
pain in the back of the throat, phlegm
formation, swollen tonsils, and possibly
complications of bacteremia (blood
infection) and endocarditis (heart infection),
which then leads to organ failure and
death.
NSF International to
provide third-party
certification of US FDA
food safety requirements
NSF Certification, LLC, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of global public health
organization NSF International, is now
accredited by the American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) to certify
supplier compliance to U.S. food safety
regulations under the FDA’s Accredited
Third-Party Certification program.
Certification under NSF’s newly
accredited import supplier certification
program enhances market access for
imports by confirming suppliers have
implemented effective food safety control
procedures. Food and animal feed
producers and processors and produce
growers are eligible for certification. The
audit evaluates compliance with FSMA
preventive controls and produce safety
rules, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control
Point (HACCP) principles, and other
applicable FDA regulations depending on
the product and process being certified.
Customer requirements can also be
included in the audit. Certification to an
FDA-recognized accredited third-party
certification program, such as NSF’s
import supplier certification program, is
required for products imported under
the FDA Voluntary Qualified Importer
Program (VQIP), which is used to provide
expedited entry into the United States.
This certification is also accepted by the
FDA as an option for supplier verification to
satisfy the FSMA Supply-Chain Program
and Foreign Supplier Verification Program
(FSVP) requirements.
“Third-party certification bodies serve
an essential role in assuring the safety
of the global food supply chain,” Allen
said. “With nearly 75 years of industry
experience in food safety, NSF helps
suppliers successfully navigate FSMA
requirements and provides importers with
confidence that certified products are
compliant with FDA regulations.” — The
Health