Across Malaysia, pharmacies are no longer content with dispensing medicines. They have become bolder, creeping into areas that belong squarely to trained medical doctors, offering \u201chealth screenings\u201d that carry life-and-death implications for unsuspecting citizens.<\/p>\n
Blood pressure checks may be harmless enough, but when pharmacies start running atrial fibrillation screenings, full lipid profiles, HbA1c testing, body fat analysis, and uric acid measurements, they are crossing a line that should never be crossed. <\/p>\n
These are not retail services. They are clinical investigations that demand deep medical knowledge, interpretation, and accountability, skills pharmacists are not trained or licensed to provide.<\/p>\n
The Real Dangers To Ordinary Malaysians<\/strong><\/p>\n At first glance, these screenings may look convenient and affordable. But in reality, they are a trap for the average citizen:<\/p>\n When pharmacies hand over results without medical interpretation, patients are abandoned in a minefield of confusion. Numbers mean nothing without context, and context requires the years of training that only doctors possess.<\/p>\n Pharmacies Growing Bolder, Beyond Their Expertise<\/strong><\/p>\n This is not an isolated incident. Pharmacies, emboldened by weak oversight, are steadily branding themselves as mini clinics. Their marketing is aggressive, their packages cheap, and their message simple: \u201cWhy see a doctor when we can do it here?\u201d<\/p>\n But the truth is, pharmacies are retail businesses. Their main incentive is sales, not patient outcomes. <\/p>\n Every \u201chealth screening\u201d sold is a revenue stream, not a medical service. And yet, they cloak these offerings under the guise of health care, exploiting the trust of the public while eroding the sanctity of medical practice.<\/p>\n This is not collaboration with doctors. This is outright encroachment. It is reckless, profit-driven, and dangerous.<\/p>\n Ministry Of Health Must Act Now<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite warnings from medical associations and practitioners, pharmacies continue to push deeper into doctors\u2019 territories without impunity. The Ministry of Health (MOH) should not keep silence.<\/p>\n Every day that MOH delays action, more citizens are misled, more patients are placed at risk, and more trust in the health care system is eroded. Regulation is not optional; it is urgent. MOH must act now,\u00a0on this creeping medicalisation by retail pharmacies.\u00a0<\/p>\n Patients Deserve Doctors, Not Retail Substitutes<\/strong><\/p>\n Health care is not a supermarket transaction. Patients are not customers buying shampoo or toothpaste. Their lives cannot be reduced to a price tag on a \u201chealth screening package.\u201d<\/p>\n Pharmacies must return to their rightful role: supporting doctors by dispensing medicines safely, not pretending to be doctors themselves. Malaysians deserve professional, safe, and accountable care, not misleading shortcuts that gamble with their health.<\/p>\n It is time for MOH to draw the line. Collaboration is welcome. Encroachment is not.<\/p>\n Health care is not retail. Patients are not customers. Their lives are not profit margins.<\/p>\n Dr James Jeremiah is the immediate past president and founding president of the Association of Private Practitioners Sabah (APPS).<\/p>\n\n
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