Search the health news archive.

PAC exposes private hospital billing: medicines marked up 300%, pillowcases billed separately, GL patients charged more than cash payers. 17 reforms urged 🏥

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — The Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) has raised concerns over private hospital billing practices and pricing structures, warning that they are...

Sarawak Heart Centre ranked 52nd in Newsweek's Best Specialised Hospitals for Cardiology in Asia Pacific 2026 — proof that world-class heart care exists in Malaysia's public system. ❤️

KUCHING (June 24): Sarawak Heart Centre’s ranking among the top 100 heart centres in the Asia Pacific region proves that world-class public healthcare is being delivered in Sarawak, said Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian. The Deputy Pre…

Medical inflation at 16.1% a year. Insurance chiefs told PAC it's driven by overuse of private hospital procedures — not just rising costs. 💸

Public Accounts Committee tables report on rising health insurance premiums, private hospital charges, and their impact on public healthcare.

Severe period pain that doesn't respond to treatment could mean endometriosis has spread to the bowel or bladder — other organs can 'menstruate' too. Here's what to know. 🩸

Endometriosis occurs when tissues that line the uterus – which thicken and shed according to the menstrual cycle – grow outside the womb.

Malaysia is SEA's fattest nation with NCDs costing RM64.3B a year — more than the entire MOH budget. The problem isn't the drug. It's the couch. 🛋

Malaysia is the fattest nation in Southeast Asia, and we are paying for it with kidneys that fail, hearts that give out, and a public health system that is buckling under the weight of preventable illness.

Malaysia's public health system is not heading for collapse. It has already collapsed, writes an anonymous subspecialist. Cardiology. O&G. ICU. One by one, services are breaking. 🏥

If meaningful action is not taken now, future generations may look back on this period as the moment Malaysia's public health care system crossed a threshold from which recovery became exponentially more difficult.

While the Health Ministry faces a hiring freeze & budget cuts, Malaysian officials took 50 overseas trips in 50 days — averaging one a day. CodeBlue maps all 22 ministries. 🛫

PM, KSN, ministers, deputies, and officials from 22 ministries travelled abroad on at least 50 trips in 50 days from May 1 to Asia, Europe, UK, US, and Australasia, averaging at one daily overseas visit even as steep budget cuts…

More than 170 physiotherapy centres in Sabah still aren’t registered — raising fresh concerns about patient safety and professional accountability.

Malaysia’s Gig Workers Act improved protections, but a big hole remains: many gig workers still lack real healthcare coverage for illness, surgery, and long-term treatment.

Malaysia’s future specialist pipeline may be slowing: physicians warn unresolved training and recognition issues could delay subspecialist development.

CodeBlue says ministers and officials made 50 overseas trips in 50 days even as budget cuts continue to squeeze Malaysia’s health service.

Malaysia registered 854 overseas-qualified doctors as specialists in just the first 5 months of 2026 — a major boost for the specialist pipeline.

Malaysia’s healthcare manpower crunch is now serious enough for Health and Higher Education to form a joint workforce planning committee.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health and Higher Education ministries will establish a new committee aimed at ensuring that the country's healthcare workforce supply and manpower planning continue to meet current needs.

PCAKK in KK has provided free home-based palliative care for 28 years. Now they need help — raising RM300,000 through a charity concert on Sept 19 to keep caring for terminally ill patients. 🙏

KOTA KINABALU (June 23): The Palliative Care Association of Kota Kinabalu (PCAKK) is aiming to raise RM300,000 through its Charity Concert and Dinner 2026 to support its expanding services and long-term vision of establishing a p…

Malaysia's youth caught between viral food trends and dodgy slimming injectables — UM nursing experts warn unregistered weight-loss products are a growing public health risk, not just a beauty issue. 🍗

The generation caught between ayam gepuk and weight-loss injections should not be blamed. It is a generation growing up in a complex health environment. The real issue is not that young people enjoy food, but that insecurity has…

🏥 Private hospitals back govt plan to enlist private healthcare workers into public facilities. APHM is ready to help design a flexible framework. Details to follow in coming weeks.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) has expressed support for the Health Ministry's proposal to enlist private healthcare workers nationwide to strengthen public medical facilities.

Cutting sugar entirely? Doctors say don't. The body needs some sugar to function — The Star's health column explains why moderation beats elimination. 🍬

While too much is certainly not healthy, we shouldn't totally stop having sugar.

⛰️ 63 deaths from hiking in 5 years — Malaysia now requires a medical certificate to access high-risk trails. 189 areas have compulsory certified guides, Parliament told.

KUALA LUMPUR: Hiking accidents claimed 63 lives across the country over the past five years, with 1,059 cases recorded in all, the Dewan Rakyat heard on Tuesday (June 23).

🤖 More Malaysians are using AI chatbots for health info, but doctors warn AI can’t examine you — delays on dengue, stroke or cancer symptoms can be fatal.

🏥 Sabah’s RM1 clinic fee is under debate: a UMS study says many patients would pay a little more if B40, rural and elderly protections stay intact.

⚠️ Buying cosmetics online in Malaysia? Check the product’s notification status first — unregistered items can pose serious health risks.

🚨 5 hospitalised after mercury spills from a broken parcel at a George Town courier facility. Hazmat crews decontaminated the site; all victims are stable.

🚨 A Malaysian paediatrician in Perth faces 33 child sex charges involving 9 alleged victims. Doctor held in Hakea Prison; AHPRA has suspended registration following expanded police investigation.

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian paediatrician based in Perth, Australia, has been charged with 33 child sex-related offences involving nine alleged victims following an expanded police investigation.

🩺 1 in 6 Malaysians has diabetes. 1 in 3 has high blood pressure. 1 in 3 has high cholesterol. 54% are overweight or obese. Sarawak Health director: NCDs remain Malaysia's biggest public health challenge.

KUCHING (June 21): Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly diabetes, continue to pose major public health challenges in Malaysia. Sarawak State Health Department director Dr Veronica Lugah said data collected nationwide sh…