Treatmennt for HIV+ in Peninsular Malaysia

Further from POZboySG's blogpost about Treatment Procedures in Peninsular Malaysia, I would like to digress and add on my own experience and thoughts for his readers and mine alike.

Let's start by adding a few facts that is on a need-to-know basis from his blogpost.
1. PT Foundation
True, they don't have a resident doctor for all your medical needs. PT Foundation is not a hospital, but they have Dr Nason Tan who volunteers outside his clinical hours. Dr Tan is well know in Malaysia for volunteering and the likes of doctors without borders having served in Nepal and Africa as a volunteer doctor.

Plus, he's hot and cute :)
Dr Tan runs his own clinic in Bandar Menjalara Kepong.

Other doctors who's known for volunteering include Dr Illas Yee, but he's more into seeing general STI rather than specializing in HIV. Dr Yee is attached with Universiti Hospital, sometimes referred to as University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).

2. Problem with UMMC doctor
From personal experience, I have seen Dr Iskandar before at The Safe Clinic before it wound up. Dr Iskandar works with UMMC. So naturally when The Safe Clinic closed, he wrote a referal letter back to himself to UMMC to continue seeing me. Now here's the problem.

Dr Iskandar has an attitude problem. I found him rude when he sent me away on my first visit to him in UMMC as he couldn't see me that day without my blood result. The manner in which he did that was even ruder, he asked his student assistant to ask me to get out and leave his clinic.

So if you are thinking of going to UMMC for treatment, you may have had seen Dr Iskandar before, I don't know, but I really, really dislike him.

3. Tanglin Medical Clinic
a) What is it?
It is a community medical clinic that has been around for more than a hundred years. It is basically a clinic for general sicknesses etc but the best part is, it serves half of us KL pozzies so the wait can be agonizing at times. Take note that to come here, you need a referral letter from the blood lab, or other clinics.

b) Location & Time
The clinic is situated in Bukit Aman. Don't know where? Try Bukit Aman Police Station. Now, do you know? Yes, it's just down the road from the police headquarters. It's housed in a very old colonial building. Consultation hours depends on the ONLY HIV doctor's availability, otherwise its 8am to noon and SOME afternoons. I do not know her full consultation schedule although I understand she also see normal sickness when there is no HIV patients, so I presume she works a full clinical hour.

c) Language
As it is a fully government funded facility, you must be fluent in BM. I have never really seen foreigners seeking any medical treatment here as it's primarily a COMMUNITY clinic, although Dr Nurul speaks fluent English but to deal with the nurses and staff, oh well, they could only speak BM....

d) Procedure for new cases
You will first need to have a blood result confirming HIV+ from other clinics or a blood lab to be referred here. At Tanglin, if you are pozzie, you have a special counter. We called it Bilik No. 9. It doesn't matter if the room isn't the 9th room or it isn't a room at all. Everyone in Tanglin knows what Bilik No. 9 is for. Armed with the referral letter you go straight to this room, skipping the normal front counter registration which could take hours. The attending nurse is a male nurse. His name is En Anuar. It pays to be nice to him LOL.

He is the filter between you and Dr Nurul, the HIV doctor in Tanglin. You want to see the doctor, you go through him. You want appointment changed, you go to him. You want to take blood, you go to him, yes, he takes your blood. So be nice.

First timers to see him to complete registration. Then fix an appointment with the doctor for another day. Well, in the beginning it's always tedious and slow but down the road, trust me, it gets a lot easier, and faster.  You will then take your blood here and your journey begins.

e) Procedure for returning cases
You will be given a brown card that states your next appointment for blood and doctor consultation. I would prefer to schedule my appointments on a Thursday morning. Each time you come back for a doctor's appointment, you skip the general queue and go straight to Bilik No. 9 (now do you see the importance of this room?), and get a manual queue number. If you are here for a blood test, go straight to Bilik No. 9 and take your blood there instead of the general blood lab. The period between blood test and doctor's appointment is roughly 1 month, as with all other government facility. Be patience.

The first appointment is at 8am, unfortunately is when the clinic is most packed. Dr Nurul's morning are usually packed as well, so if you have the time, opt for an afternoon appointment at 2pm or so. Every patient she sees takes roughly about 20 minutes on average, so if you are no. 3 in line, be prepared to wait at least an hour.

f) Cost
RM1 for citizens for first timer only. Thereafter FREE forever. Absolutely nothing else to pay - for first line medication, it's completely free and Dr Nurul will generally prescribe Efavirens (Stocrin) and Combivir for first line, with Bactrim and Vit B if required.
Not sure how much is it for foreigners. I never bothered to memorize..
I found out private hospital like Sunway Medical Centre costs RM900 each visit (blood/consultation/medication).

Other tips: 
Parking space is scarce but you can park by the roadside even though it's Zon Tunda (Tow Zone) with yellow lines with the police station just down the road. It's a recognised problem so don't worry but be smart la ok! There is also a food court opposite the clinic with 6 stalls. No WIFI. 3G is fine - it's Kuala Lumpur.

Pharmacy:
First time taking HIV med will be counselled in a private room in the pharmacy. Thereafter you will be given a monthly prescription for monthly supply of medication. The dispensing of medication will not take longer than half an hour.

A little about Dr Nurul... she's very motherly and of middle-aged woman around 40s.. she sees so many HIV patients that she naturally forgets who is who, so everytime she sees me, she'll repeat my history from day 1 (that explains the min 20 mins consultation...)...... BUT, she's very, very friendly and once you begin medication, she will give you her personal mobile number to call her in case of emergency..

Why do I say motherly? She NAGS ME!! More than my own mom does, but I know its for my own good..

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Hospital Sg Buloh ID Ward
I was admitted into the ID ward on the 3rd floor when my CD4 dropped to below 100 and remained in hospital for a week. In the course of the week I had several types of medication and many doctors attending to me, including student doctors (pity them always kene scold), and the cost of my hospital bill is only RM1. Perks of being a Malaysian.


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Thanks to the system in place in all government hospitals, pozzies do not need to come to KL to seek treatment. They can get treatment and medical supplies at the govt hospital or clinic in their hometown or wherever they are located. Our data is stored in a centralised computer system that any govt clinic can access if required.

We also can request for medicine to be sent to us if based overseas or request for replenishment via SMS, although I have yet to find out how SMS requests works.



Lastly, Dr Illas Yee began seeing me in The Safe Clinic and remained friends after the facility was closed down, while Dr Nason Tan is a very long time personal friend of mine, I've known him for over 10 years plus..