Appointment structure in Malaysian healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic: The public perspective

BMC Health Services Research

Yee Liang Hing¹  Ching Ee Loo¹  Ramani Subramaniam Kalianan¹  Chin Tho Leong¹  Wei Yin Lim¹  Yuan Liang Woon¹  Lee Lan Low² 

[1] Centre for Clinical Epidemiology, Institute for Clinical Research, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health, Block B4, Jalan Setia Murni, U13/52, Seksyen U13, Setia Alam, 40170, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia;Centre for Health Services Research, Institute for Health Systems Research, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health, Block B2, Jalan Setia Murni, U13/52, Seksyen U13, Setia Alam, 40170, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia;

关键词: Public;    Physical distancing;    Clinic;    Appointment;    Malaysia;    Healthcare;    COVID-19;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12913-021-07456-3

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionEvidence shows physical distancing of one metre or more is important to reduce person-to-person SARS-CoV-2 transmission. This puts the Malaysian public healthcare system to a test when overcrowding has always been an issue. A new clinical appointment structure was proposed in the Malaysian public healthcare system amidst the pandemic to reduce the transmission risk. We aim to explore the general public’s view on the proposed clinic appointment structure.MethodsA cross-sectional anonymous web-based survey was conducted between 10th September 2020 and 30th November 2020. The survey was open to Malaysian aged 18 years and older via various social media platforms. The questionnaire consists of sociodemographic, experience of utilising healthcare facilities, and views on clinic appointment structure.ResultsA total of 1,144 complete responses were received. The mean age was 41.4 ± 12.4 years and more than half of the respondents had a preference for public healthcare. Among them, 77.1% reported to have a clinical appointment scheduled in the past. Less than a quarter experienced off-office hour appointments, mostly given by private healthcare. 70.2% answered they would arrive earlier if they were given a specific appointment slot at a public healthcare facility, as parking availability was the utmost concern. Majority hold positive views for after office hour clinical appointments, with 68.9% and 63.2% agreed for weekend and weekday evening appointment, respectively. The top reason of agreement was working commitment during office hours, while family commitment and personal resting time were the main reasons for disagreeing with off-office hour appointments.ConclusionWe found that majority of our respondents chose to come early instead of arriving on time which disrupts the staggered appointment system and causes over crowdedness. Our findings also show that the majority of our respondents accept off-office hour appointments. This positive response suggests that off-office hour appointments may have a high uptake amongst the public and thus be a possible solution to distribute the patient load. Therefore, this information may help policy makers to initiate future plans to resolve congestions within public health care facilities which in turn eases physical distancing during the pandemic.

【 授权许可】

CC BY