I refer to the Malaysiakini report Malpractices alleged at 1Malaysia clinics.

I read with much interest this report of my speech at the forum on ‘What is wrong with our healthcare system?’ held on March 20 in Penang as well as the responses it elicited. I wish to clarify a few points.

While the above report was broadly accurate, some garbled paragraphing may have given the impression that the study I had conducted and to which I referred to in my talk was on the 1Malaysia Clinics.

This is not correct as my study was on medication errors committed by medical assistants in government health clinics and the government hospital in the Kampar district. Using these findings as a basis, I warned of the dangers besetting clinics without qualified doctors.

A discerning reader would not, however, have been misled by the report as it is clear that at no time during the talk did I mention the word ‘malpractice’. However, I did mention the occurrence of medication errors which I found in my study as well as statistics on medication errors by medical assistants.

I would like to clarify that the term ‘malpractice’ refers to negligence or misconduct by a professional person, such as a lawyer, a doctor, a dentist, or an accountant.

Medical malpractice is the failure to meet a standard of care or standard of conduct by a medical practitioner in the treatment of patients resulting in bodily injury or death. I hope that after reading this, there will be no confusion between malpractice and medication errors.

Finally, in response to Dr Cynthia, I would like to say that I am not against the ‘1Malaysia’ clinics introduced by the government but I am more concerned about the quality of services provided in these clinics.

Most of the patients who seek treatment from the ‘1Malaysia’ clinics are generally from the lower-income group and the government of the day must ensure that they receive proper treatment from qualified professionals.

As for the comment that ‘this is sad, desperate politicking’, I would like to assert that I’m not a politician seeking political mileage but just a medical doctor concerned about the quality of medical care in the country.

With this clarification, I hope Dr Cynthia’s doubts as to my motives are laid to rest and I fervently hope that this time she doesn’t fall off her chair and injure herself.