News ...:: Berita Akademi, June 2001 ::... SPECIALIST REGISTER (Press Statement issued at the Opening Ceremony of the 3rd MOH-AMM Scientific Meeting on 2 November 2000) Tan Sri Dato' Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman, the Director General of Health, launched the Specialist Register of the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia (AMM) on 2 November 2000 at the Opening Ceremony of the Third Joint Scientific Meeting of ~ Ministry of Health (MOH) and the AMM. This Register is jointly developed by the MOH and the AMM. The idea of establishing a Register had been mooted for more than 15 years by principal officer bearers of the Malaysian Medical Association. The MOH has always had its own mechanism and criteria of gazetting specialists serving in the MOH. The Univers1ties too have their own individual mechanism and criteria. The larger private hospitals have credentialing committees to allow specialists to practise in their hospitals. As the private sector involvement in health care service is rapidly expanding, there is a need for a uniform criteria for recognition of all the specialists and their specialized skills for reference in this country to assure the public a high quality care. In most countries, the professional bodies perform the regulatory function of maintaining appropriate standards of practice of the medical profession. It is for this reason that the AMM has taken up the challenge together with the MOH to establish this Specialist Register. The AMM is the professional body encompassing all specialties in medicine in this country. It is now more than 34 years old and with 1300 members, it can playa leadership role in maintaining the standard of specialist practice for the country. A joint committee comprising members from both the MOH and AMM has been working on the criteria to be on the Register which include qualifications, training requirements, experience and practice as recognised by peers. The MOH and AMM have been cooperating and collaborating in many activities such as development of consensus statements and clinical practice guidelines, joint scientific meetings, telehealth project, etc. The AMM represents the profession in the Coordinating Committee for Specialist Training and also the Specialty Subcommittees of the Ministry of Education and has been cooperating with the Universities in their postgraduate training and postgraduate examinations. The AMM had initiated the grading system for continuing medical education which is now being administered by the Malaysian Medical Association on behalf of the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC). The objectives of the Specialist Register are manifold. First and foremost, the Register will serve as a mechanism to ensure that doctors designated as specialists are fully competent to practise at the expected higher level of care in the chosen specialty. The Register which contains list of disciplines (e.g. Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, Surgery) and specialties (e.g. Cardiology, Paediatric Neurology and Urology) will enable doctors to identify fellow specialists in various fields to whom they care refer to for second opinion and/or further management. It will also enable the public to identify specialist doctors in various specialties to whom they may wish to be referred or may wish to consult. The Register is contained in the Home Page of the AMM and accessible to both the doctors and the public (http://www.acadmed.org.my). The Register contains a list of names, qualifications and the specialties of practice of all the members of the AMM. Doctors who wish to be included in the Register must apply to the AMM which will then be vetted by the Specialty Colleges. In this way, these doctors are assessed by their own peers in their specialties and not by an outside agency. It is a form of self-regulation by the profession to protect the interest and safety of the public and to maintain the standards of specialty practice in this country. Doctors from outside the country would have to undergo the same process of recognition which is important in this era of globalisation. The AMM and the Colleges will continually monitor and contribute towards the continuing professional development and competency of its members through various continuing medical education and professional activities. This process of credentialing of specialties and specialist techniques and procedures is part of the Register. The MOH and AMM have set up a National Credentialing Committee (NCC) towards this objective. In this way, the doctors will be able to acquire new skills and technologies which are credentialed in accordance with their qualifications. The public will also be able to know the specialized skills that these doctors have been credentialed to perform. The NCC and the AMM will continually try to introduce the latest cutting edge technology and skills into the country to ensure that local specialists are adequately trained to perform these new skills. back to news