Premier: S’wak allocates RM10 mln to support expansion of digital clinic management statewide

KUCHING (Jan 15): The Sarawak government has allocated RM10 million to support the expansion of health clinic digitalisation through the Cloud-Based Clinic Management System (CCMS) statewide, said Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

He said the implementation of CCMS would interconnect all health clinics in the state, particularly in terms of patient record management, streamlined clinical workflows, and improved overall healthcare delivery.

“It will reduce the workload of doctors where they can easily access patients’ health records.

“For example, a patient from Gedong Clinic who had fallen ill while in Sibu will be able to have his or her medical record accessed by a doctor there without the need to bring their physical medical record,” he said when officiating at the Digitalisation of Health Clinics Programme and Sarawak-level National Healthy Malaysia Agenda (ANMS) Roadshow in Gedong.

He assured that every patient’s personal data remains safeguarded through digital protection based on the Malaysian ID and SarawakID.

“If someone attempts to manipulate or misuse the data, we have security systems in place to protect patient information. The data is securely stored,” he said.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said Sarawak is now at the forefront of the adoption of the CCMS, with 65 per cent of health clinics in the state having been fully digitised.

“Beginning with a pilot project at five clinics at the end of 2023, the CCMS has now been expanded to 153 healthcare facilities across Sarawak.

“Within this short implementation period, the CCMS database has registered 250,000 Sarawakians, which is equivalent to 10 per cent of the state’s population, successfully onboarded into the digital health ecosystem,” he said.

He said this achievement is a direct result of a whole-of-government approach between the Sarawak government and the federal government in transforming the nation’s healthcare system.

“The Sarawak government has acted proactively and generously by contributing dedicated funding to upgrade ICT (information and communications technology) and internet infrastructure at healthcare facilities while the Ministry of Health has borne the cost of system subscriptions and operational hardware.

“This synergy proves that when the federal and state governments move in tandem, we are able to implement transformation swiftly and with high impact for the people,” he said.

Dr Dzulkefly said the CCMS platform is now capable of handling high operational loads, with an average of 90,000 patient registration transactions daily nationwide.

“This demonstrates that the digital infrastructure introduced in Sarawak is truly tried and tested, and proven capable of serving the people on a large scale.

“Early data shows that the system has dramatically improved efficiency, with 75 per cent of patients receiving treatment within 30 minutes.

“The implementation of CCMS has also reduced manual task time for staff by 30 per cent. This means our doctors and nurses are now less burdened by clerical work and have more quality time to attend to patients directly,” he said.

Among those present at the ceremony were Deputy Premiers Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan and Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian, and State Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.