THE Ministry of Health (KKM) has launched a new portal, KKMNOW, making it the first ministry to provide open data sources to the public. 

The new site, an expansion of the CovidNow portal, will feature data and updates on the country’s public healthcare system. 

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said that the open data website was an innovation that developed from the CovidNow data gathered during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“People can now get healthcare data and make certain decisions related to their health based on the information from this new portal,” he said at the KKMNOW Launching Ceremony in Putrajaya. 

He said the effectiveness of the website was proven when the data shared by the ministry every day was not only informative but also helped to keep the public secure regarding daily Covid-19 cases, deaths, and vaccination statistics. 

“This initiative is an expansion of the CovidNow portal. It will provide up-to-date information on the public healthcare system, facilities, and services provided by the ministry. 

“In line with the ministry’s open data system, transparency policy and abundant data availability, we have introduced KKMNOW. 

“We hope this effort can create awareness and help Malaysians monitor the public health facilities available by district and state,” he said. 

He said the portal was a collaboration between the ministry and the Department of Statistics to help the public understand the country’s health situation. 

“With this portal, people can get more specific and comprehensive data about public health care. 

“We hope that the data will be useful to all and help Malaysians understand the health trends and situation (of the country) based on the real-time data available on KKMNOW,” he added. 

Information available on the newly launched portal include nationwide stocks of pharmaceutical drugs, blood bank data, hospital bed usage, disease statistics, and ambulance response times from MERS999. – October 5, 2022.