KKM Refutes Claim IJN Discharging Pensioner For Cost Reasons!

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The Malaysia Ministry of Health (KKM) just officially refuted claims by a pensioner that IJN discharged him for cost reasons!

 

Claim : IJN Discharged Pensioner Due To Government Cost Cutting!

Yesterday, a personal letter posted by CodeBlue went viral. In the letter, the anonymous writer who calls himself “Pensioner failed by the government” alleged that the National Heart Institute (IJN) is discharging all civil servants and pensioners, following a Ministry of Health (KKM) directive due to government cost-cutting measures.

In response to the letter, Datuk Dr. Christopher K.C. Lee – who was the former National Advisor for Infectious Diseases in the Malaysia Ministry of Health and a member of the Selangor Public Hleaht Advisory Council (SELPHAC), stated that only stabilised patients would be asked to return to cardiologists and doctors at other MOH hospitals for their follow-up. He also pointed out that this would free IJN to attend to other people who need more urgent care.

Only pensioners/civil servants who are stabilized will be asked to return to cardiologists/physicians at MOH for followup. This allows others who really need IJN care the opportunity to do; without clogging up IJN & running up the bill there. Pls see the Big Picture!

I covered the letter extensively in a separate article, which you can read for more context : Is IJN Discharging All Civil Servants + Pensioners Due To Cost?!

Recommended : Is Red Cross Rejecting COVID Vaccinated Blood?!

 

KKM Refutes IJN Discharging Pensioner For Cost Reasons Claim!

On 26 February 2024, Malaysia Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad posted the official response from the Malaysia Ministry of Health (KKM), which refutes the claims in the viral anonymous letter posted by CodeBlue.

Here are some salient points:

  1. IJN has been a government-owned private hospital since 1992, but continues to support KKM public hospitals through patient referrals.
  2. KKM itself has 10 hospitals offering cardiology services, and 7 hospitals offering cardiothoracic services.
  3. IJN serves as a referrer centre for patients requiring cardiology and cardiothoracic services, with the government covering treatment costs for civil servants, pensioners, and their dependents.
  4. Patients are only discharged from IJN when their conditions are stable, with a monitoring of at least 6 months to one year for adults, and one to two years for children (as I pointed out earlier).
  5. Stable patients are then referred back to their original MOH hospital for ongoing care.
  6. This policy allows about 4,000 new patients to be referred to IJN annually.

While not mentioned in its official response, I should point out that this policy isn’t new. It was implemented back in October 2002 – more than 21 years ago!

On top of that, patients can always be referred back to IJN if the cardiologist / cardiothoracic surgeon in KKM hospitals are unable to treat them.

You can read more about that in my previous article – Is IJN Discharging All Civil Servants + Pensioners Due To Cost?!

 

Full KKM Response To IJN Discharging Pensioner For Cost Reasons Claim!

Here is the full KKM response to the claims that IJN is discharging all civil servants and pensioners due to cost-cutting measures.

RESPONSE TO MEDIA – CLARIFYING MISCONCEPTIONS: MOH AND IN COLLABORATION FOR OPTIMAL HEALTHCARE ACCESS

26 February 2024

In response to the article published in the CodeBlue on 26 February 2024 titled “IJN discharging all civil servants, pensioners due to government cost-cutting measures – Pensioner failed by the government”, the Ministry of Health (MOH) would like to respectfully refute the misleading accusations made in the article.

It is essential to clarify some misconceptions about cardiology services in Malaysia and the collaborative relationship between MOH and IJN. Initially operated under Kuala Lumpur General Hospital (HKL) until 1992, IJN is now a government-owned corporatized entity specializing in cardiovascular and cardiothoracic services. Over the past two decades, IJN and MOH have remained longstanding partners, with IN supporting public hospitals through patient referrals. Currently, 10 MOH hospitals offer cardiology services, and 7 provide cardiothoracic services nationwide. Together with these hospitals, IJN serves as a referral center for patients requiring cardiology and cardiothoracic services, including civil servants, pensioners, and their dependents, with the government covering treatment costs.

Contrary to the article’s implications, MOH hospitals are well-equipped and staffed with qualified physicians and surgeons, offering services comparable to IJN. The strategy of referring complicated and critical cases to IJN is aimed at optimizing resource utilization and ensuring the access of the general public to MOH hospital services. Therefore, sharing patient loads with IJN should not be mistaken as any form of incapacity on the part of MOH hospitals.

More importantly, patients are discharged from IJN only when their conditions are stable, with a monitoring period of at least 6 months to one year for adults and one to two years for children. These stable patients then return to MOH hospitals for ongoing care under cardiology and cardiothoracic departments. This strategic approach allows approximately 4,000 new patients to be referred to IJN annually, maximizing cost-effectiveness.

It is also worth highlighting that the costs associated with patient referrals to IJN are covered by the federal funding provided by the Ministry of Finance. While the expenses for these referrals are increasing annually, prudent cost control measures are essential to treat as many patients as possible with existing resources, ensuring fairness to taxpayers.

Hence, we hope the public servants objectively view and support the government’s decision. By implementing this policy, we aim to strike a right balance between caring for public servants and providing necessary medical services to the wider population, adhering to the best international

standards for cardiology and cardiothoracic services. We also remain committed to strengthening MOH hospital services, fostering public confidence in the quality of medical care provided.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
26 February 2024

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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