Singapore: Malaysia’s Helath Minstry has launched the Malaysian Health Data Warehouse, a repository of health-related data collected from Malaysia’s hospitals. The data system aims to capture health information from approximately 2.5 million patients, from both public and private hospitals. More data will be collected in the second phase of the initiative.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam said to The Star Online that the integrated data centre could help healthcare professionals and caregivers “make more educated decisions” for treatment. He added that this approach will help doctors make informed decisions and come up with cost-effective solutions.

Assuring that the system will safeguard people’s health details, Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said, “The names are all blank (blanked out). It is only the health information that we want, such as the di­sease and treatment.”

However, Dr Milton Lum, a member of Malaysia’s Medical Council has voiced out concerns over the “ethical and legal implications” that are related to patient confidentiality.