Healthcare services in rural Malaysia are mainly provided by the government in the form of a two-tier system. This system consists of the Klinik Kesihatan (Health Clinic) and the Klinik Desa (Community Clinic) which are under the management of the District Health Office.
Klinik Desa:
- Provides healthcare to a population of about 4000 (or a kampong)
- Handled by 1-2 Jururawat Masyarakat (community nurse)
- Focus on maternal & child health, particularly antenatal, postnatal care, contraception, immunisation and development assessment
- Provides home visit
Klinik Kesihatan:
- One KK with 4 KD
- Caters to a population of 20,000
- Managed by Medical Officers, with the help of Medical Assistants
- Accept referrals from Medical Assistants, nurses, midwives & private GPs
- Larger KKs have a Family Medicine Specialist (e.g KK Segamat) + more facilities like laboratory, diagnostic imaging facilities, maternal & child clinics and dental services
Serious cases which cannot be handled by the KKs will be refered to the nearest district hospital, which is under the charge of the hospital department of the Ministry of Health.
Non-government Healthcare Providers in Rural Areas
- Private GPs
- Traditional Medicine Practitioners ( particularly for the treatment of musculoskeletal problems, psychological illness and illness perceived to be supernatural in origin)
- Estate Clinics (provided by Palm Oil Companies to serve the health needs of the estate workers/ managed by a Health Assistant)
Contributed by John Lee
Source: Review Article- Rural Health Care in Malaysia by Kamil Mohamad Ariff & Teng Cheong Lieng
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