Page 11 - NATIONAL POLICY QUALITY IN HEALTHCARE: Bridging Silos, Accelerating Improvements 2022-2026

National Policy for Quality in Healthcare
Bridging Silos, Accelerating Improvements

Foreword

Developing integrated people-centred health care systems will produce necessary benefits to
the health and health care of all people, including improved access to care, improved health and
clinical outcomes, better health literacy and self-care, increased satisfaction with care, improved
job satisfaction, improved efficiency of services, and reduced overall costs. Malaysia is committed
to the WHO Framework on Integrated People-centred Health Services that has a vision for
the future for all people to have access to health services provided in a way that responds to
their preferences, coordinated around their needs, and is safe, effective, timely, efficient, and of
acceptable quality.
To further cement this effort, the Ministry of Health is embarking on its journey in the development,
refinement, and execution of the National Policy for Quality in Healthcare (NPQH). The NPQH
serves as a constant reminder that quality is at the heart of our healthcare system, irrespective of
challenge, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. Quality improvement initiatives as the core
component of NPQH can provide an innovative response to the population health needs emerging
from the pandemic and particularly in maintaining the quality of essential health services.

This policy emphasises on the definition of quality in Malaysia’s context to provide high-quality
healthcare that is safe, timely, effective, equitable, efficient, people-centred, and accessible
(STEEPA). The high-quality health care must be responsive to the needs tailored precisely to local
communities and delivered in a team of caring professionals to improve overall health outcomes.
This NPQH document seeks to internalise quality culture throughout the health system through
fostering partnerships, healthy team-working environments and sharing of experiences, which
are integrated throughout every organisation. Through achieving a sustainable quality culture,
transparent and open communication across all levels, we intend to support healthcare providers
and make them feel valued and appreciated.

Building onto this, Malaysia will embark on its unique pathway to attain Universal Health
Coverage, with a meticulously designed and integrated national approach to quality which will
bridge silos that are inherent in many healthcare systems in the world today. This will represent a
pragmatic and visionary milestone for Malaysia, in its endeavour to be a nation of people working
together for better health.

YBhg Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr Noor Hisham bin Abdullah
Director General of Health, Malaysia

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