The healthcare workforce in Malaysia is currently facing a multitude of challenges that threaten the sustainability and effectiveness of the healthcare system. On this episode of Public Health, we wade through the controversies and confusion over issues like shift hours, on-call allowances, and working conditions, with Azrul Mohd Khalib, CEO of the Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy, and Dr Timothy Cheng, Chairman of the Malaysian Medical Association’s Section Concerning House Officers, Medical Officers and Specialists (MMA SCHOMOS).

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What is it like working as the doctor no one likes to see? It’s not uncommon for many of us to fear a visit to the dentist, but in this episode of Humans of Healthcare, we want to hear what it is like for dentists when their patients are scared of them - or, more accurately, the procedures they’re about to do, with consultant paediatric dentist Dr Tengku Maryam Fatimah Tengku Ab Malek.

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What if we could one day cure all genetic diseases? Would it be ethical to do so, even if we could? In this mini series, we’ll be exploring the challenges scientists have faced in curing life-changing diagnoses, and what a cure would mean to people who live with these conditions. Joining us for this episode, we have neurogeneticist Dr Azlina Ahmad Annuar and bioethicist Dr Nishakanthi Gopalan, both from Universiti Malaya.

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Your risk of getting cancer increases as you age, but these days, it seems like we hear more and more about people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s being diagnosed with cancer too. Are young adults more at risk of cancer than they were a decade ago? How would this change our approach to screening and treatment of these cancers? In conjunction with World Cancer Day (Tuesday, 4th February), we discuss this with Dato’ Dr Saunthari Somasundaram, president of the National Cancer Society of Malaysia.

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On Counsellor’s Corner this month, we dive deep into the heart of relationships—how to show your partner you care, how to handle conflict, and how to grow together. Relationship counsellor Azah Yazmin answers all your questions.

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The year started with a shocking bit of news for patients of Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, when the teaching hospital announced that it would be increases charges for consultation, admission, and other services starting 1st January 2025. Prof Dr Nazirah Hasnan, Director of Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, joins us to explain the rationale for the fee increases and how university hospitals differ from public hospitals under the Ministry of Health.

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Fee-for-service versus diagnosis-related groups. Value-based care. National health financing. These terms keep showing up in the current heated discussions over healthcare financing. Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Rajesh Singh explains why it’s important to understand the ringgit and sen of healthcare, and helps to break down some of the terms and concepts for us.

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What if we could one day cure Alzheimer’s disease? In this mini series, we’ll be exploring the challenges scientists have faced in curing life-changing diagnoses, and what a cure would mean to people who live with these conditions. To answer this question, we’re joined by consultant geriatrician Prof Dr Tan Maw Pin.

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Your heart beats non-stop even before you’re born to pump blood around your body. But how does age affect the way it functions? On this episode of Healthy Ageing, we’re joined by consultant cardiologist Dr Wong Teck Wee to delve into managing heart issues among older adults and how we can all ensure our heart stays as healthy as it can.

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What would our world look like if we no longer had to worry about infectious childhood diseases? In this series, we’ll look at how we can eliminate the public health challenges that continue to plague us today and how far we are from that goal. Dr Sangeetha Siniah, Paediatric Infectious Diseases Consultant, speaks to us about the common infectious diseases that are still dangerous to children, and how we can do better to protect children.

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