KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 — The Teleprimary Care Oral Health Clinical Information System (TPC-OHCIS) technology used in most health clinics in the country reportedly burdens the public healthcare sector.

According to medical practitioners, the system causes various issues in the daily operations of healthcare staff, particularly in handling patient treatments.

"The system was developed in 2003, but only over 100 clinics use it.

"Each clinic has to spend millions of ringgit to install the system, and this constraint has resulted in some clinics still using manual methods (paper usage),” they said.

In 2018, the Ministry of Health aimed to expand the use of TPC-OHCIS to 3,300 clinics nationwide. However, after five years, less than 10 per cent of clinics had adopted the system.

The source added that the TPC-OHCIS system frequently experiences disruptions, especially during peak hours, which can delay patient treatment.

"Some healthcare staff complain that their workload increases because many tasks still have to be done manually despite using TPC-OHCIS.

"The slowness of the TPC-OHCIS system also affects patient records that must be updated regularly. As a result, healthcare staff must work overtime to ensure all records are accurate and up-to-date.

"Due to these technical problems, patients also suffer as the waiting time for treatment becomes longer, with some waiting for three to five hours.

"When this situation occurs, health clinics become overcrowded, causing patients to queue outside the premises. This is particularly hard on the elderly and children,” they said.

According to the Ministry of Health’s official website, TPC-OHCIS is integrated with clinical support systems such as laboratory and pharmacy systems. Still, sources reveal that this is not the case.

"For example, the laboratory system that is supposed to facilitate healthcare staff in storing blood test records is not integrated with TPC-OHCIS, resulting in them having to print results manually,” they explained further.

The source also revealed that although the system has been developed for over 20 years and has cost the ministry millions of ringgit, its implementation has neither been complete nor comprehensive.

"There should have been efforts to digitalise the health sector comprehensively since it’s already 2024. How is an outdated system still being used in public health clinics?

"Because of this, people prefer and spend more to get more efficient treatment at private clinics.

"Recently, the Ministry of Health once again promised to digitalise the health system within the next five years.

The source stated, "Please accelerate the efforts to digitalise the health sector and not just make empty promises.”

The source also hopes the Ministry of Health will be more serious about transforming the current health sector.

"I suggest the ministry explore more cost-effective alternative systems per the government’s current cost-saving policies.

"Modern and integrated technology is needed to reduce long-term operating costs, thereby no longer burdening healthcare staff and patients in this country.

"Many are disappointed with the quality of healthcare services in the country, compounded by the issue of medical practitioners preferring to work abroad for better work benefits,” they added further.