How Many Doctors Do We Need in the Public Sector?: A Guide to Human Resource Planning and Specialist Training

Estimating number of doctors including medical specialists needed in the public sector is fundamental to guide human resource planning and implementation of specialist training in Malaysia. Crude population-based and individual basic specialities population-based ratios were used to estimate number of doctors including specialists needed in the public sector by 2025 and 2030. These estimates were then compared with existing number of specialists, current production rates and other parameters to determine level of deficit of the various medical specialities in the future. Medical specialist production versus deficit index was introduced as a tool to present the expected outcome of the existing specialist training. The index can be used as a guide to strategise policies and implementation plans related to training and human resource.