My recent extended hospital stay had done a lot to me…I reflected, I got philosophical…I learnt to count my blessings and I learnt who my TRUE friends are! I also reminisced about those people whose paths I’ve crossed and who had been instrumental in shaping my views on things that matter in life and who taught me that if you let the system s**** you, it will!
Dr. B. Jagdev Singh was a senior partner of Drs. Young, Newton & Partners, ExxonMobil’s panel clinic. When he retired from Young & Newton, Dr. Singh signed a contract to become the Company’s Medical Advisor responsible for occupational health. I was then the Company Medical Plan Administrator and we collaborated on employee health issues.
Dr. Jagdev Singh is now the Chief Medical Assessor, HM Aerospace Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia's largest aviation training center.
Dr. Singh was, and is still is, a proponent of government hospitals (UM in those days) whose main objective is to treat patients and are not bottom-line driven. He is also of the view that the standards of medicine in this country are not stringent enough compared to, say, Australia where one needs to go through a number of years working in government hospitals (usually out in the boondocks) before one can become a specialist.
Hence, in Malaysia, we see many doctors who are "still wet behind the ears” (Dr. Singh's favourite phrase) coming out to practice as specialists and this is one of the factors contributing to the number of medical negligence cases.
He is also not in favour of giving employees a free rein to choose hospitals based purely on comfort and not care. Corporations pay millions of Ringgit annually for their employees’ health care and much of these expenses have gone to “frills” provided by hospitals rather than necessary medical care.
Instead of treating medical conditions, some have caused medical conditions through botched procedures, thereby not only increasing company’s health care costs but also resulting in loss of productivity, etc.
As an HR person, I agree that in order to manage health costs, there has to be some form of control by the Company as the rate of medical inflation (according to insurance companies' statistics) is close to 20% per year! Uncontrolled medical costs not only affect companies but also their employees who must share in the costs.
As an HR person, I agree that in order to manage health costs, there has to be some form of control by the Company as the rate of medical inflation (according to insurance companies' statistics) is close to 20% per year! Uncontrolled medical costs not only affect companies but also their employees who must share in the costs.
But I also tend to sway towards giving employees some degree of freedom to choose – for sometimes, employees wish to use certain hospitals they are familiar with. However, there has to be a caveat - i.e. if the hospital is known for "over-charging", then the Company has the right to step in...this, currently, is already taken care of as most companies' medical plan is administered by insurance companies who ensure that "pricey" hospitals are not covered by guarantee letters.
Dr. Singh and my team spent hours in meetings discussing employee-related health issues, over-charging by some hospitals, and how to institute some form of control on the company’s medical plans so that we get value for money. We also visited hospitals and the Ministry of Health regarding the Company's guarantee letter, and for Dr. Singh to inspect facilities of new hospitals that employees may use.
Ours was like a father-daughter relationship. On the one hand, he would reprimand me for looking for an easy fix to manage my weight problems (Duramin); on the other, he called me “my sweet chappati” (I was only 30-something then, ok?) and would treat me and a few other ladies to chappati under the tree somewhere along Jalan Sungai Besi. Another of his favourite joint is Kelab Aman (the Sikh club) on Jalan Aman, off Jalan Damai. So, how to lose weight lah?
Dr. Singh, I learnt a lot from you about the medical field, “behind-the-scenes” exploits of some hospitals that has prompted me to ask questions, not to take doctors' advice as gospel and I appreciate your concern about my well-being when you told me “no Duramin, exercise more, eat less, don’t be lazy!”.
Don’t forget you promised to take this “sweet chappati” for lunch at Kelab Aman….but this “sweet chappati” is now in such a mess and has turned into “masala (problem) tosai”….but never mind, doc, LIFE GOES ON - masala tosai aside!
Say hi to Neeta for me...is she a practising lawyer now?
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