Page 22 - MEDICAL AND HEALTH INSURANCE

MEDICAL AND HEALTH INSURANCE

Consultants are medical specialists who specialise in certain branches of

medicine that they are qualified and trained for. They are normally

referred to by the primary care doctor with specific referral of the patient's

condition to their speciality. Patients can also have direct access to the
specialist on their own in the private sector as all the private sector

specialist services are for a fee.

Specialists' fees are higher than those of general practitioners, as they are

specially trained for the specific branch of medicine and required a longer
span of education.

1.5.3 OTHER HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS

Healthcare practitioners are commonly grouped into several professions:

 Medical (including general practitioners and specialists)

 Nursing (including various professional titles)

 Midwifery (including Obstetrics)
 Dentistry (including dental team members)

 Allied health professions

 Health Scientists.

Now that we have discussed the medical professional, let us consider the

allied health professionals. Allied health professionals, also referred to as

"health associate professionals" in the International Standard Classification
of Occupations, support implementation of healthcare, treatment and

referral plans usually established by medical, nursing and other health

professionals, and usually require formal qualifications to practice their
profession. In the Ministry of Health of Malaysia the Allied Health Sciences

Division comprises of 4 units namely:

21 | P a g e