Healthcare and Wellness

Abstract

Health status has been linked with future income, consumption, and welfare. More importantly health is the basic capabilities that should not be undertaken on the basis of presumed economic benefits. Its public good characteristic mandates a role for government to ensure satisfactory health to all including the disadvantaged. This chapter examines the Malaysian public and private health systems, together with the issues arising therefrom and analyses the opportunities and threats facing the sector today. Public healthcare being the main provider, has been encountering difficulties in providing speedy delivery of healthcare owing to less provisions made for geriatric healthcare and a lack of basic medical programmes for immigrants. Private healthcare providers are profit driven and largely cluster in the large towns and cities. It is suggested that Malaysia 2050 health and wellbeing can be advanced following a more Realistic and Intermediate Pathway of the Australian health system with a suggested growth rate of 5–6%. As health and social wellbeing is the major goal of Envisioning Malaysia 2050, it is proposed that every person residing in Malaysia shall not be deprived of quality healthcare, that every person enjoy the maximum life expectancy and advance level of healthcare becomes the norm for both primary and secondary preventive medicine.

Appendix

In an ideal economic state, the following should have been acquired:

Future medicines 1–7 below capture the essence of out 7 point achievements of healthcare that will enable the Visions and Goals above to be attained.

Future Medicine (1)

Precision medicine

Tailoring of medical treatment and preventive interventions to the individual characteristics of each patient. Genomics, metabolomics and proteomics are encompassed within the larger panomics framework that specifically treats patients in a targetted manner depending on the genetic makeup and molecular characteristics of the patient.

Future Medicine (2)

Productive ageing

To engage the segment of population over 60 years of age in productive activities and worthwhile contributions towards the nations GDP. To harness the aged in our increasingly inverted V-population structure towards the development of our nation.

Future Medicine (3)

It is hoped that currently incurable diseases including cancer will be curable by 2050. In this regard, if Malaysia is to tap onto the global network of knowledge creation and expansion, the country’s legislative and intellectual property must be ready to facilitate the flow of new drugs into the country that respect international patent rights.

Future Medicine (4)

The new norm of prevention as the preferred mode of health care. The current system sees the greater portion of patients seeking curative medicine. Ideally, in the future we will see more patients doing routine medical tests that are tailored for mainly maintaining good health.

Future Medicine (5)

To build a secure Malaysia that is ready to handle any potential epidemic with secure first world facilities from entry point detection, to containment, to hospital preparedness and to stem any spread. This is critical in face of rising threats in the past and which continue to afflict the world as mutated viruses and antibiotic resistance create new problems globally. Strategies: foster global partnerships, strengthens national disease surveillance and develop national action plans to permit early detection.

Future Medicine (6)

To integrate the handicapped into society in a manner that reflects our commitment to universal human rights and gives dignity to every sector of society.

Future Medicine (7)

To stem the current decline in environmental health threats and if possible, reverse it, to commit to sustainable living and growth and to recognize that the environment and future of man will be intertwined as we honour our pledge for a better world for coming generations.