OVER 70 per cent of general practitioners (GPs) are struggling to remain open due to a drop in patient numbers.
Rising costs and a growing number of GPs have also contributed to this, reported the New Straits Times.
Most of the 10,000 private clinics recorded to have incomes below RM60,000 per month, leaving them struggling to continue operations.
This was revealed by the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) in a study involving nearly 2,000 clinics nationwide.
Its president, Datuk Dr R. Thirunavukarasu, said that based on the findings, the Health Ministry has been urged to ease congestion at government clinics by referring basic health cases to GP clinics to help empower their services.
“Based on the MMA study, about 21.1 per cent, or 380 clinics, earn less than RM20,000 a month; 32.4 per cent (583 clinics) earn between RM20,000 and RM39,999; and 18.4 per cent (332 clinics) earn between RM40,000 and RM59,999.
"This is the level where clinic operations face many challenges to their sustainability due to rising operating costs and increased regulatory burdens, alongside competition from unregulated online services,” he said.
He said only 17.8 per cent of clinics enjoy a comfortable monthly income exceeding RM80,000.
He said there was a significant increase in private clinics after the Covid-19 pandemic, caused by the termination of contract doctors and the lack of a clear career path for medical professionals.
"The struggle with income among GP clinic doctors is related to the contract system and the lack of a clear career path provided by the ministry previously.
"The heavy workload among young doctors forces them to leave the public service and take the risk of opening clinics and building careers as GPs because they feel unappreciated," he told NST.
He said he expects the situation to improve following the ministry's gazetting of the amendment to the Seventh Schedule under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Regulations 2006, which took effect on April 2, regarding consultation fees that have not been revised since 2006.
Dr Thirunavukarasu said another concern is the interference of Third-Party Administrators (TPA) or insurance companies that restrict treatments, an issue that has persisted for a long time without any regulatory policy for GPs over the past 20 years.
He said GPs have been increasingly squeezed since 2015, especially with commercial stakeholders pushing for the separation of consultation and medication dispensing.
"Even worse, many advertisements on social media show clinic premises being sold to other parties because doctors can no longer afford to sustain operations.
"The MMA previously proposed that doctors in the public service be assigned to health clinics and emergency wards to help facilitate their career paths," he said.
He claimed that private clinics are also excessively regulated by the authorities concerning issues such as the size of treatment rooms, toilets, and doors, while at the same time, medical services such as tele-clinics and pharmacies do not face the same strict regulation. – May 5, 2026
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