KUALA LUMPUR – The Health Ministry (MOH) has admitted its limitations in addressing allegations brought against a private hospital of signature forgery on a patient consent form.
In a statement to Scoop, the ministry said private healthcare facilities are regulated under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998, which requires written consent to be obtained before any procedure or surgery is carried out.
MOH cannot verify the authenticity of patient consent forms, and the responsibility lies with the healthcare facility’s management, the ministry said.
“Subsection 32(2) of Act 586, read together with Regulation 47… states that the person in charge shall carry out duties including obtaining valid consent from the patient prior to any procedure or surgery being performed in writing.
“This means that private healthcare facilities are required to ensure that consent is properly obtained and documented before any medical procedure is carried out,” it said.
MOH’s response to Scoop was over a report in March about a complainant who accused a private hospital of signature forgery, prolonged neglect, and questionable billing practices.
Scoop reported that the patient claimed he had never signed a consent form for a CT scan in January 2022, alleging that the signature attributed to him had been forged.
The patient also provided other documentation that raised questions over the timing and legitimacy of the form, as it bore a sticker dated two days after the patient’s discharge and six days after the said procedure. The hospital had later explained that another doctor had signed the form, but the patient insisted he had never met or spoken to that doctor.
In its response, MOH conceded that it currently lacks the capability to independently verify such documents.
“To date, the MOH does not have the technical expertise or technological facilities to verify the authenticity of such consent forms.
“As such, the ministry is not able to determine whether a consent form has been falsified or altered,” it added.
MOH added that such matters fall outside its enforcement scope.
“Issues of document falsification fall under the jurisdiction of the police.
“The existing legal framework does not provide a mechanism for the ministry to conduct audits or investigations specifically into forged documents,” it said.
The patient had also alleged neglect when he was given a CT Urogram scan without having met a doctor after his admission, and that he was later left unattended “for more than 42 hours” following other tests and scans. He was also dissatisfied with the explanations given on the test results.
In response, MOH said individuals admitted to private healthcare facilities must be placed under the supervision of a registered medical practitioner, but there were no regulations specifying how frequently a patient must be seen.
“There is no specific determination for how frequently a patient must be reviewed, as this depends on the clinical assessment and professional judgement of the attending doctor,” MOH’s statement read.
On enforcement, the MOH said it retains the authority to act when complaints are lodged, particularly in cases involving negligence or inadequate care.
“In matters involving ethics or professional conduct, the case will be referred to the relevant professional body for further action,” it added.
MOH said that patients are not without recourse when disputes arise, particularly in relation to hospital charges.
“Patients may submit complaints, and private healthcare facilities are required to have proper complaint-handling procedures in place,” MOH said in response to the patient’s complaints regarding his bill for some procedures he said he did not receive, and for ward visits for which he was not present.
The patient, whose hospitalisation was in 2022, lodged a police report on his allegations on December 31, 2025, and submitted formal written complaints to the hospital and health authority in February this year. - May 5, 2026
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