Public Health: Malaysia Must Do Better In Primary Care

Some of us may be familiar with the idea of a family physician - your local primary care doctor who treated you for your childhood infections, managed your adult ailments, and probably provided care for your own children as well. Increasingly, however, the central role of primary care doctors is fading, replaced by the ease of going directly to secondary and tertiary care specialists. But primary care needs to be brought back to the forefront, for the many benefits it can confer on our health, as well as our healthcare system overall. Azrul Mohd Khalib, CEO of the Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy joins us as we speak to Datuk Dr Thirunavukarasu Rajoo, Honorary General Secretary, Malaysian Medical Association and Dr Isriyanti bt Mohd Rafae, President, Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia, about strengthening the role of primary care providers as the gatekeepers for health services in the community.

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