THE Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has voiced firm opposition to the blanket implementation of a mandatory generic drug prescription policy, arguing that such a move undermines professional ethics, limits patient autonomy, and risks compromising the management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).<\/p>\n
MMA President Datuk Dr Thirunavukarasu Rajoo said the association had taken note of a recent circular issued by a third-party administrator (TPA) on behalf of a prominent financial institution. The directive compels doctors to prescribe long-term medication using only the generic name of the active pharmaceutical ingredient.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile MMA supports the use of quality generics to improve affordability and access, a policy that enforces their use in all cases is unacceptable as it interferes with doctors\u2019 clinical judgement,\u201d he said in a statement on Friday.<\/p>\n
He cited the Code of Professional Conduct of the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) and the MMC\u2019s Position Paper on Managed Care, both of which explicitly state that clinical decisions must remain with the treating doctor and cannot be overruled by corporate policy.<\/p>\n
\u201cFormularies may serve as guidance, but they must not dictate treatment. Patients have the right to informed choices in their medical care,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Dr Thirunavukarasu pointed out that in cases involving drugs with a narrow therapeutic index or where patients experience adverse reactions to specific formulations, branded medications may be necessary for safety and efficacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny substitution must be explained to and agreed upon by the patient,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He warned that the circular in question goes beyond encouraging generic use and instead shifts prescribing power away from doctors and into the hands of corporate payers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis opens the door to procurement-driven decisions, placing commercial interests above clinical considerations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over time, he added, such interference could erode the primacy of patient welfare in medical decision-making, particularly in the treatment of chronic conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer \u2014 which collectively cost Malaysia nearly RM10 billion annually.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe real solution lies in focusing on prevention and lifestyle change, not merely cost-saving through mandatory generics. The number one priority must always be patient treatment outcomes, not procurement costs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The MMA also expressed long-standing concerns over the influence of TPAs in clinical decisions, noting that the association has raised alarms since 1998 about the lack of regulatory oversight.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite increasing regulation of the medical profession, the government has yet to properly regulate TPAs,\u201d he said. \u201cThis circular is a direct consequence of that failure and threatens to erode the trust at the heart of the doctor\u2013patient relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
As such, the MMA has urged the government to immediately regulate TPAs and managed care organisations under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act (PHFSA) and align such practices with the MMC\u2019s ethical standards.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolicies should encourage generics as the first-line option but must never enforce them. Doctors must retain professional autonomy, and patients must be informed and empowered to choose their treatment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Dr Thirunavukarasu concluded by warning that more is at stake than just cost control.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s being threatened is the integrity of medical practice and the public\u2019s trust in their doctors \u2014 and that cannot be compromised.\u201d – September 26, 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has voiced firm opposition to the blanket implementation of a mandatory generic drug…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169960,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,111033,111103,17200,785,45151,8033,85,111036,111104],"class_list":["post-169959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-generic-drugs","tag-healthcare-policy","tag-malaysian-medical-association","tag-mma","tag-non-communicable-diseases","tag-patient-rights","tag-sports","tag-third-party-administrators","tag-tpa-regulation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}