The use of health information technology encourages efficiency and can improve quality of care while also being more cost effective in the long term. With all the necessary information at their fingertips, healthcare providers are able to acquire and dispense accurate and thorough information about their patients’ health. That way, whether it's a routine checkup or a medical emergency, healthcare professionals will have a clearer picture of their patients’ health background and needs to provide the best care possible. 
According to Bryan Lin, Chief Executive Officer of Subang Jaya Medical Centre, a hospital typically gathers a lot of data about each patient's journey, including information about their admission, discharge, laboratory results, body measurements and more. “Big data is crucial to the hospital industry. In order to advance the ways of providing better care to our patients, we need to look into mining these data that are currently fragmented to be more cohesive and meaningful in analysis,” he said.
William Chau, Group Director of Information, Communications and Technology at Sunway Healthcare Group, Sunway Medical Centre, shares that the hospital is implementing various big data and channel diversification initiatives to improve patient experience as well as deploying data analytics and visualisation capabilities to gain insights into the efficiency of the hospital operations. "We are also implementing a patient mobile or web application that not only allows patients to access a wide range of healthcare services directly, but also enable patients to actively participate in managing their own health through telemedicine and AI-based virtual chatbot and assistants," he added.
The rise of telemedicine services has brought about significant changes in healthcare delivery with many hospitals, including Subang Jaya Medical Centre and Sunway Medical Centre, which have incorporated it into their service offerings. While the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the popularity of this service, the ease and convenience of it has cemented its continued growth, even as pandemic restrictions have been lifted.
“The pandemic propelled us to offer virtual consultations to patients who were unable to come to the hospital. Today, patients can consult with doctors or specialists through Whatsapp, video conferencing or phone calls. We also offer home monitoring services whereby patients’ symptoms are monitored by doctors or nurses via video conferencing. Moving forward, we are exploring various ways of monitoring patients' health through wearable devices or other monitoring tools. This can help doctors detect health issues early and prevent complications,” Chau explained.
The easier availability of cutting-edge technology in the present day has allowed for better customisation of telemedicine services. "This is just the beginning of virtual care. Such technologies extend beyond the hospital's walls and geographical boundaries. However, because it is not a silver bullet that fits all, we must consider market segments such as those who are healthy, those with chronic diseases, the elderly who may be living away from their children, and those who require supervision in acute care, such as Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients," Lin added.
One of the primary goals at Malaysia Healthcare is to ensure that healthcare travellers receive comprehensive and cohesive healthcare experience in Malaysia. To that end, Malaysia Healthcare takes great pride in facilitating a seamless end-to-end journey for all its healthcare travellers with the provision of a world-class healthcare ecosystem that prioritises patient safety as well as providing easy and affordable access to healthcare alongside the country’s famed hospitality.
For more information on Malaysia Healthcare and its services, please visit https://malaysiahealthcare.org.my or visit our social feeds at: www.facebook.com/MHTCMalaysia or at LinkedIn (Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council).
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About The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council
The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) is a government agency under the Ministry of Health Malaysia that has been entrusted with the responsibility of curating the country’s healthcare travel scene. Founded in 2009, MHTC works to streamline industry players and service providers in facilitating and growing Malaysia’s healthcare travel industry under the brand “Malaysia Healthcare” with the intended goal of making Malaysia the leading global healthcare destination. MHTC works closely with over 80 private healthcare facilities in Malaysia, who are registered members of MHTC.
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