PETALING JAYA: With the high transmission of Covid-19 in the community, the scanning feature of the MySejahtera app for contact tracing is no longer as useful, says the Malaysian Medical Association.

       Its president Dr Koh Kar Chai said as the country moves towards an endemic phase, it is time to consider a halt to the use of MySejahtera to scan a QR code before entering any premises.

       “The use of Mysejahtera allowed contact tracing to be done during the height of the pandemic, a feat that would have been impossible without the MySejahtera app. However, it may have outlived its usefulness as a contact tracing app,” said Dr Koh.

       “With the large number of positive cases within and surrounding us, contact tracing will not be adopted on a wide scale as it will not yield the expected results,” he said in a statement on Wednesday (March 30).b

       Dr Koh suggested that the app be put to better use as it has been adopted by a large number of the population across the nation, both old and young.

       “The contact tracing feature of the app should still be preserved as we will not know when the next pandemic will turn up,” he said.

       “The MySejahtera app can also be adapted to be used as a personal health record as it is already linked to individual IDs and is non-transferable,” added Dr Koh.

       Dr Koh also raised the concerns of data security regarding the app, especially after looking at what has been shared on social media on its ownership.

       “It is hoped that the government will continue being proactive in securing the trust of the people in the app with the hope that it can ultimately be used in the management of health records in the move towards an effective healthcare system for the country,” he said.

       At the same time, Dr Koh pointed out the lack of a centralised management system for the people's health records.

       “What is lacking in the nation's healthcare structure is a centralised management system for the health records of our population. There is a need for an electronic medical record system that is secure and accessible by the healthcare providers,” he said.

       Dr Koh added that this will provide seamless care for the people's health, unlike now when there have been many instances where healthcare records are not accessible across facilities or providers.

       He proposed that the MySejahtera app be utilised as an initial effort to have a health record that can be carried by the individual to allow for access by healthcare providers as and when needed.