Johor and Selangor will spearhead the Enhanced Primary Healthcare (EnPHC) project, which is set to store medical records of 300,000 Malaysians at 20 health clinics under the Ministry of Health.

Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam said overall, RM26 million has been allocated for the first five years of the project, which uses an electronic medical record system, to integrate the health records of all Malaysians into one database, in five years.

"The existence of this database makes the health system more proactive, especially in addressing concerns over the increase of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among Malaysians, thereby reducing the risk of chronic illness.

"We very much need a healthy Malaysian community following an increase in NCDs, including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension every year," he told reporters after officiating the National Level 2017 EnPHC programme in Segamat, Johore, today.

Subramaniam (photo) said that efforts to gather the health information of Malaysians should be initiated as unhealthy people will affect national productivity.

"According to records on the prevalence of diabetes among adults, aged 18 and above, there was an increase from 11.6 percent to 17.5 percent for the period from 2006 to 2015. The prevalence of hypertension is still high by international standards, despite the trend declining from 37.7 percent in 2006 to 30.3 percent in 2015," he said.

The EnPHC project will also see patients assigned to Family Health Teams, to enable them to be checked by the same doctor every time he/she comes for treatment. The team will conduct a thorough screening to determine the proper intervention required.

“This will enable a quick response to incoming patients and reduce congestion and waiting time during registration," Subramaniam said.

"EnPHC will focus on efforts for people to stay healthy, improve work processes at health clinics and hospital referral networks for comprehensive and continuous treatment."

According to Subramaniam, the ministry is targeting 500,000 people who will benefit from the project for a period of five years before EnPHC is extended nationwide.

- Bernama