THE Health Ministry’s current system of collecting Covid-19 test results from laboratories and healthcare facilities is complicated and in need of a revamp, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) said.

For one, general practitioners (GPs) are having difficulty setting up accounts under the ministry’s e-notification system in order to report new cases, said MMA president Prof Dr Subramaniam Muniandy.

Secondly, the ministry is “closing one eye” to private laboratories, which are not authorised by the ministry to conduct Covid-19 screening and have no protocol for reporting positive cases.

“(The ministry should) simplify and merge the two systems for private healthcare facilities reporting Covid-19 test results.

“The ministry and relevant authorities should also conduct a full audit on private laboratories conducting the Covid-19 tests or the system will run the risk of being compromised,” Subramaniam said in a statement today.

He said the two systems for private clinics to report cases has complicated matters, whereby GPs which have been reporting new infections to the health district office (PKD) via email, phone and fax as per guidelines issued earlier, are now being told to use a new e-notification system.

However, to set up an account with this system, GPs have to communicate with the health district officer, who is unavailable most times.

The e-notification system is for private healthcare facilities to report RT PCR and RTK Antigen positive cases.

However, there is also the Sistem Informasi Makmal Kesihatan Awam (Simka) that also requires GPs to report all RTK-Antigen tests done.

Simka also receives reports on all RT PCR tests from laboratories approved by the ministry.

Questioning the dual system, Dr Subramaniam also noted that the ministry, in its daily briefings, only announces positive cases detected through RT PCR testing, which is considered more accurate.

“Results from RTK Antigen screenings, which may have been done by the hundreds of thousands if not millions, have never been made public as it is not the confirmatory test.”

The official figure on new cases daily also does not capture tests done by private labs, even though they are not authorised by the ministry.

These include some drive-through tests by private laboratories and on-site RT PCR tests.

“According to the ministry, Covid-19 tests by the private sector can only be carried out at a private medical clinic, ambulatory care centre, or a private hospital. Private laboratories are not classified as healthcare facilities. However, the ministry has closed one eye,” said Subramaniam.

He cited news reports about a woman named Yong and her five family members in Petaling Jaya who were tested at a private lab’s drive through screening service and were found to be Covid-19 positive.

After waiting in vain for three days at home for the ministry to attend to their cases, and with their phone calls to the Sungai Buloh hospital going unanswered, the woman admitted her family members herself.

“From this scenario, we can see that the (officer) who is tasked with providing further instructions for the Covid-19 positive patient and arranging for an ambulance, was not informed about the Covid-19 positive case. More importantly, there was no follow up from the private laboratory who should be responsible.”

Subramaniam said MMA has expressed its concern over private labs conducting tests without the ministry’s approval but the ministry “continues to be silent”.

He also warned of middlemen in “commercialised mass Covid-19 screening” who have no background in healthcare.

“Some labs are also colluding with business entities to conduct onsite and drive through screening. These issues have been highlighted to the ministry. However, they continue to close one eye.

“It begs the question, if private laboratories are not allowed to conduct the Covid-19 screenings, how are they reporting Covid-19 cases legitimately? Are results issued in compliance with laboratory regulations?” he asked. – January 31, 2021.