LETTER | The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) acknowledges the government’s recent announcement on medicine price transparency.

While we support the goal of improving patient access to cost information, we are concerned that this policy could have serious, unintended consequences for private general practitioner (GP) clinics, which play a critical role in providing primary care services across Malaysia.

Implementing price transparency in GP clinics by requiring the display of every medication’s price is not a practical approach.

GP clinics provide professional healthcare services, not retail transactions, and displaying a full list of medication prices at the counter would be administratively burdensome and significantly increase operational costs.

These added costs, alongside the stagnant GP fee schedule and steadily rising expenses, would strain clinic operations and may even lead to closures, ultimately reducing patients’ access to essential healthcare.

Furthermore, turning clinics into retail-like spaces risks eroding the quality of the doctor-patient relationship, shifting focus from healthcare to price comparisons.

GP clinics have long relied on modest margins from medication sales to manage operational costs and keep services affordable. This policy affects that balance, making it increasingly difficult for clinics to remain viable.

The MMA urges the government to address the practical challenges and consequences of such policies and to prioritise the strengthening of primary care.

We urge a thorough review and update of the GP fee schedule, an issue which has been brought up by MMA  many times before as the consultation fee has remained stagnant for the last two decades.

Also on the issue of the sustainability of GPs as the backbone in providing community healthcare,  MMA also calls for the immediate regulation of third-party administrators (TPAs), an issue that has seen inaction since the 1990s and has had an increasing effect on GP practice over the years.

With over 12,000 GP clinics nationwide, it is crucial that policies support these essential community healthcare providers, enabling them to continue serving as the first line of care for millions across the country.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.