KUALA LUMPUR: MySejahtera features can be expanded to turn it into Malaysia's "super health application", offering people quick access to their health records, serving as a platform to pledge their organs for donation or monitor Covid-19.
Experts said while this could be a reality if successfully implemented, the government should first ensure MySejahtera privacy and safety concerns were addressed.
Universiti Malaya occupational and public health expert Professor Dr Victor Hoe said the authorities needed to consider carefully the implications of adding more features to MySejahtera.
He said there should be an act that guaranteed the information shared on MySejahtera would be used only for the benefit of the person and the people.
This, he said, was to ensure that the application would not be misused for commercial or personal gains of people in power.
"We need to ensure people continue to enjoy their privacy.
"If we have this in place, then MySejahtera can be improved to be our super health application.
"The lifetime health records that we have been trying to develop in the past few decades will be a reality.
"All our health records will be at the tip of our fingers," he told the New Straits Times.
Dr Hoe said using MySejahtera to scan QR codes before entering premises had become second nature to people.
The application, he said, had also been excellent in notifying Covid-19 close and casual contacts, which had reduced the workload of healthcare workers at district health offices.
"MySejahtera is also good for keeping our vaccination records.
"All this is possible due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has become a very powerful application to track and trace people.
"In the pandemic situation, people can accept the trade-off of personal privacy with community safety."
However, he said, the situation might change when the pandemic dies down and people become reluctant to use MySejahtera.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had, on March 5, said the ministry was mulling enhancements to MySejahtera by adding a feature that allowed people to sign up as organ donors amid a need to increase the number of donors to accommodate patient needs.
Dr Hoe said including an option on MySejahtera to allow people to sign up as organ donors was a laudable move.
However, it might not be sufficient to increase the number of organ donors.
"To be an organ donor is a personal decision as it is related to death, religion and family.
"Many people are not opting in to be organ donors because it is so final and there is no personal gain.
"Using MySejahtera may be too impersonal and will not change the situation."
Instead, he said, organ donation laws should be amended to an "opt-out" system rather than an opt-in approach, as implemented in Argentina, Colombia and the United Kingdom.
"Our approach is opt-in, which means people have to register to become an organ donor.
"The opt-out approach, in contrast, means everyone is an organ donor unless he opts out. If our laws change, then MySejahtera will be a good way to convince people to stay as organ donors."
The World Health Organisation said countries with opt-out systems had 25 per cent to 30 per cent higher organ donation rates than countries with opt-in systems.
Former Malaysian Public Health Physicians Association president Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said the government should consider offering incentives to encourage more people to pledge as organ donors.
These, he said, could be in the form of free medical treatment, discounts on treatment at private healthcare facilities, cheaper medications and rebates on mobility aid or health equipment.
"People are reluctant or afraid of the procedure and are not really concerned about the importance of organ donation.
"Donors should be given incentives to encourage them to come forward."
Dr Zainal, a public health expert and epidemiologist, said the Health Ministry should revisit its Information and Communication Technology Blueprint, including the Electronic Medical Records initiative and Telehealth Plan.
MySejahtera, he said, could be enhanced to help people manage their health or diseases, as well as access health services.
"We can start (adding the app features) with the three high prevalent risk factors: diabetes, hypertension and obesity.
"We can achieve a lot and save in terms of healthcare costs if investment is channelled to this application.
"However, the ministry should ensure that it has adequate resources as well as dedicated and client-friendly teams in place. It should not be profit-driven."