KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) will continue to push for measures to prevent insurers, takaful operators (ITOs), and third-party administrators (TPAs) from interfering in doctors’ clinical decision-making.
Its president Datuk Dr R. Thirunavukarasu said that the topic is on the meeting agenda with the Health Ministry and Bank Negara on Tuesday next week.
“There’s a lot of things that have been highlighted, especially about ITOs and insurance, about interfering in the clinical decision making of physicians.
“General Practitioners also have a lot of issues with third-party administrators.
“This is a follow-up meeting.
“We would like to know what their proposal is, how are they going to manage this? Especially on the interference,” he told the New Straits Times after the MMA Doctors Day Celebration 2025 at Prince Court Medical Centre, here, today.
Previously, the MMA asked the Health Ministry to immediately regulate TPAs, following reports that a TPA, acting on behalf of a financial institution, had issued a circular mandating that prescriptions for long-term medications be written using only the active ingredient, which meddled with doctor’s decision-making.
The meeting will also touch on the new grievance mechanism which will enable doctors to resolve health insurance disputes, which has been given clearance by the Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC).
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
