[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A patient-centered healthcare system is a reflection of the modern day medical world.
With technology, much needed information about health is easily accessible. Hence, encouraging a more active patient and health professional relationship. However, there’s a very thin line between self-diagnosing and being an active patient.
Pharmacists at Unicare Pharmacy in Petaling Jaya, Chuah Layka and Clement Loh address modern day healthcare issues.
- IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT’S THE BIGGEST THREAT TO THE HEALTH OF MALAYSIANS?
Obesity. The number speaks for itself as Malaysia is dubbed the “fattest nation” in the whole of Asia based on a number of publications. To cite The Lancet, a British medical journal, 49 percent of Malaysian women and 44 percent of Malaysian men were found to be obese and the numbers are not coming down anytime soon due a number of factors. For one, Malaysia’s drive to becoming a developed nation has made technology a lot more dependable and accessible and this in turn would inevitably encourage a more sedentary lifestyle. The link between obesity and a number of diseases such as diabetes and various cardiac conditions are clearly established. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 36 percent and 4 percent of total deaths in Malaysia in 2016 were attributed to cardiovascular diseases and diabetes respectively.
- HOW CAN MALAYSIANS PLAY A PROACTIVE ROLE IN TAKING CHARGE OF THEIR HEALTH?
I think self-education is a great way to start and living in the 21st Century is in great synergy to this approach as information is abundantly available. By being self-informed, one would be more knowledgeable in preventing diseases as well as choosing the right treatment if the need ever arises. This in turn would reduce the sole reliance of one’s fate on healthcare professionals and advocating a more patient-centered care which is the basis of modern medicine and something that is foreign to the Malaysian community. However, there is a limit towards self-education as a lot of information available publicly may not necessarily be factual.
- WHAT IS A COMMON MISTAKE THAT PEOPLE TEND TO MAKE WHEN MAKING DECISIONS WITH REGARDS TO THEIR HEALTH?
To place complete trust on information that is acquired via technological platforms like social media in particular. A lot of information that is available on popular social media and communication platforms are not in fact truthful but are intended as “Clickbait” to garner more traffic and publicity. Most of them make claims to challenge scientific and medicinal facts that have been researched extensively.
Upon reading such news, a person with no knowledge or whatsoever on the topic would fall into the delusion of the fabricated news actually being true. On the other hand, self-education is very important to take charge of one’s health. Thus, a fine balance needs to be established between self-education and trusting every available material that can be found online.
- WHY IS HEALTH EDUCATION IMPORTANT?
Health education is an important tool to equip oneself with the ability to make informed health-related decisions, be it prevention or treatment. In developing countries such as Malaysia, majority of the population especially the low-to-middle income group tend to have none or very little access to health education. This will put these people in a very vulnerable position to be exploited into purchasing or engaging treatment that may not even be necessary. Aside from that, unscrupulous healthcare professionals may also use this to their advantage to sell to this group of people excessive products or services for profit gain. As a direct result of this, not only is the patient at risk of receiving excessive or unsuitable intervention, but they are also at risk of spending unnecessary amounts of money.
- HOW CAN THE COMMUNITY BE MORE AWARE IN DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN FACTS AND UNSCRUPULOUS HEALTH INFORMATION?
It can be quite difficult to differentiate between what is a fabricated fact and an actual fact when no knowledge on the matter is present. An obvious solution to this issue would to be engage healthcare professionals for validation. Community pharmacists would be one of the most accessible sources. Another way to differentiate between facts and hoax would be to engage the right source of information as there are credible community-friendly websites out there that are either operated by international regulatory bodies or heavily sourced. Information found via social platforms are best to be taken with a pinch of salt as these platforms are notorious for channeling “fake news”.
Listen to your body make changes for improvement.
- WE FACE STRESS EVERY SINGLE DAY OF OUR LIFE. WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE IN MANAGING STRESS?
Stress can cause health problems or make existing problems worse. Thus, it is important for us to recognise and manage daily stress accordingly. Talk to healthcare professionals if you think your shoulder and neck pain, high blood pressure, anxiety and so on could be caused by stress. It’s important to make sure that they aren’t caused by other health conditions.
To help you out, here are 5 ways to manage stress:
Exercise – Exercising releases chemicals called endorphins, also known as the “happy chemical”, that stimulates and enhances the feeling of happiness. Exercising is a healthy way to relieve negative energy and tension, and, it helps to get you in shape physically which makes all of us feel better overall.
Eat right – Stress can affect your appetite (either increase of decrease) which will further affect your health. Make sure to eat a well-balanced diet to maintain your health.
Get some sleep – It is important to get enough sleep which will allow your body to repair and recover from the damage caused by stress.
Stay away from drugs and alcohol – Drugs and excessive consumption of alcohol increases your body’s stress and metabolism that burdens the body. This will causing an unhealthy vicious cycle to your body For example, stress leading to drug or alcohol abuse which leads to health issues and back to stress.
Talk it out – Lastly and most importantly, discuss what’s bothering you with a trusted friend, family member, or counselor, get support from them and find solutions.
- WHAT IS YOUR HEALTH PHILOSOPHY?
Listen to your body and make changes for improvement. We believe in the concept of bio-individuality and that means everyone’s body is a little different. This means that lifestyles that makes us feel great might not work for someone else. We also believe that the body require changes over time, our lifestyles need to be re-evaluated and changed constantly.
- HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE?
Eat right and exercise. As stress and pollution are unavoidable, consuming the right food at the right time helps your body improve its functions and metabolism. Junk food generally worsens the body’s metabolism while providing limited nutrients that benefits your body. Exercise is generally the cheapest medicine to improve your health. However, you need to understand your body and opt for exercise routines that does not worsen existing problems or cause new health problems.
- WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO OUR COMMUNITY ABOUT STAYING HEALTHY?
Always listen to your body, face the truth and make changes when you need to. Always ask if you are unsure about your health condition or want to have better health. There are a lot of healthcare professionals out there to help improve your lifestyle.
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Founded in 1985, Unicare Pharmacy is the healthcare section of Tong Woh Enterprise Sdn Bhd. Follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ unicarepharmacymalaysia/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
