PETALING JAYA: Don’t delete your MySejahtera app as more features have been added to help you manage your health, say medical experts.
The Health Ministry said nearly seven million Malaysians are still using the Covid-19 MySJ Trace feature in the app to track close contacts, despite the government discontinuing the compulsory QR code check-in when entering premises since May 1.
Dr Mahesh Appannan, head of data at the Health Ministry’s Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC), who manages MySejahtera, said the app had also been retrofitted with more functions and repurposed into a public health app.
He said it would continue to have a role in the lives of Malaysians years from now.
In the event of a new pandemic or any emerging diseases, the app could be easily mobilised as a mature system was already in place, he added.
“The Health Ministry has one of the biggest digital assets in the country. Now because of the user data we have, we are transitioning MySejahtera from a Covid-19 app to a public health app.
“MySejahtera greatly eased the Health Ministry’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic by tracing active cases, enabling home quarantine, virtual monitoring, patient surveillance and spurring a seamless world-class vaccination process.
“Now, the app’s infectious disease tracker has also been expanded to not only track Covid-19 cases, but also other communicable diseases such as dengue, rabies, measles and hand, foot and mouth disease,” he said when contacted yesterday.
The latest version of MySejahtera is also able to store user health information and childhood immunisation records for babies born from July 1, 2022, as announced by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin on July 16.
Health screening records were also now at users’ fingertips, said Dr Mahesh.
“If you perform a health screening at any government health facility at this current time, because of the transaction made within the ecosystem, you can get your record in MySejahtera and you can share it with your physician.”
The Health Ministry is also currently using MySejahtera’s intelligent algorithms to identify Covid-19 positive individuals who are eligible to receive Paxlovid, a new antiviral drug.
When the monkeypox outbreak in other countries became a point of concern in May, the ministry was immediately able to send alerts through MySejahtera to travellers coming from countries with reported cases, added Dr Mahesh.
“We could do this very quickly because we already have a very mature system in place,” he said.
On public trust in the app, Dr Mahesh said it was safe to use as it belongs to the government and the data was handled by the Health Ministry, adding that the user information could not be shared with others.
Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Koh Kar Chai said MySejahtera was still a useful tool as it would help those with Covid-19 monitor their condition and alert them if they need to get to a hospital.
“This can be especially so for those living alone or far away from healthcare facilities,” he said.
Dr Koh suggested a feature be added to the app whereby the user’s current medical history, for example current medication and details of last three visits to a medical facility, could be recorded to ensure seamless delivery of healthcare when a person visits different healthcare facilities.
Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia president Dr Raj Kumar Maharajah said the app could help educate the public to take charge of their own health.