title: National response to neurological diseases in Malaysia: planning for the future.
abstract: The number of cases of neurological disease is expected to rise in the next 10 years, making this the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality after heart disease in Malaysia. The lack of human resources in the neurological field currently serving the Malaysian population may cause a deficiency in specialized care, especially in rural areas where neurological and neurosurgical care may be lacking. Thus, a resolve was made to increase the numbers of specialists by the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) with the help of the Ministry of Health of Malaysia. A study was made to evaluate the number of referral centers needed in strategic parts of Malaysia. Our calculation was based on service demands and operative procedures following the guidelines of the Association of British Neurologists (ABN) where 15 minutes of service time was equivalent to 1 unit. Based on 2 million population covered in the state of Kelantan by this University Hospital, 4.27 neurologists are needed to meet service demands with a consultant to population ratio (CPR) of 1:468,384, compared to 7.46 neurosurgeons, with a CPR of 1:268,097. According to the current service demands, one neurologist has to work more than 407 hours per year and one neurosurgeon 1,219 hours per year in our hospital. Hospitals with a larger catchment area would need to have more neurologists and neurosurgeons for optimal care in their area. Thus, more neurologists and neurosurgeons are needed to be produced, since the existing numbers are too small for quality care in Malaysia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia. deptneurosciencesppspusm@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Jafri Malin
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Abdullah
authors.forename: Ahmad Munnawir
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hussin
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tharakan
authors.forename: Mohamed Rusli
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Abdullah
authors.forename: Ramli
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saad
authors.forename: Zaidun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kamari
authors.forename: Zabidi Azhar Mohd
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Hussin
authors.forename: Dzulkifli Abdul
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Razak
mesh_terms: D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D009462:Neurology / Q000639:trends*; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D000078329:Workforce