KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has clarified the reasons for the high costs of Real-Time Reverse Transcription-Polymerese Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests.
In a statement on Wednesday, MMA explained the costs are inherently high not due to profit margins but because of the various resources required to run them.
“A single RT-PCR test requires not only the test kit but also personal protective equipment (PPE) for the doctors and their team, sanitisation, and proper clinical waste disposal as well as high level laboratory costs,” explained MMA president Prof Datuk Dr Subramaniam Muniandy.
“In addition, there is significant time and resources needed in terms of reporting of all tests done, notification of positive cases via E-notification, emails, fax, or calls within 24 hours in compliance with the Ministry of Health’s standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines.”
MMA was responding to the Malaysian Community Care Foundation’s call on the private medical sector to work with the government, saying Covid-19 is not the time for profit-making.
Commenting on the report, Dr Subramaniam pointed out that communication challenges between the private and public sector often demanded many man hours when handling multiple cases.
“That does not include the real risk of acquiring Covid-19 infection by the healthcare staff performing the sampling and its untold costs to their physical or mental health and the viability of their practices.
“When a private doctor is infected in the course of his or her duties, and is either hospitalised or quarantined, he or she may suffer financial difficulties as income immediately drops to none but the running costs of the practice are ever present. There are no grants or donations from any third parties or public unlike governmental facilities,” he said.
Despite these concerns, Dr Subramaniam said it is the duty of all private clinics and hospitals to do their utmost best in fighting the pandemic; and the detection of many cases by the private sector has led to greater national efforts of containing the Covid-19 spread and its associated clusters. He said simply lowering costs without taking all real and hidden costs into consideration may lead to the unsustainability of many private facilities.
“As a tool for mass screening, RT-PCR tests have the disadvantage of high costs and the longer time required to run them. Consequently, contact tracing will be prolonged which may defeat the purpose of mass screening and isolation,” said Dr Subramaniam.
He revealed that typically in an area with high Covid-19 infection prevalence, the RT PCR turnaround time may take three to five days. He suggested a more suitable course of action would be to employ the Rapid Antigen Test Kit (RTK-Ag) because it is fast and accurate, as well as may indicate an individual’s infectivity, which would aid in combatting the spread of Covid-19.
Dr Subramaniam also pointed out private hospitals and clinics have been at the forefront of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic since its start in early 2020.
“All private hospitals and clinics act as a triage for Covid-19 patients when they turn up at these facilities, sharing the burden of disseminating public information to patients, Covid-19 screening, shouldering the non-Covid-19 patient load, contributing to fundraising efforts, coordinating with the Ministry of Health, and many other acts which go beyond their normal duties,” he said.
The Malaysian Medical Council code of ethics explicitly states that every doctor is required to treat patients regardless of race, creed, or religion, and it goes without saying that is the standard expected of every single registered doctor in the country, he said.
Dr Subramaniam also said MMA would never condone any less and hopes that all in society will try to attain a deeper understanding of the issues involved with the trust that all parties are working towards the common goal of making the country Covid-19 free.
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