The Future of Patient Care Begins in Malaysia
- Written by Daily Sun
With an intensified focus on innovation and technological advancements, the nation's healthcare providers are propelling personalised health provisions to unprecedented heights, attending to patients’ individual needs more effectively than ever before.
Malaysia is truly a frontrunner in healthcare, as evidenced by an impressive uptick of healthcare travellers since its borders reopened. According to the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), healthcare travellers contributed upwards of more than RM1.3bil in revenue in 2022.
In aligning with this trend, healthcare in the country is upping the ante, transitioning from curative to include preventive care. The KL Wellness City (KLWC) exemplifies this progression. Equipped with the vision of accommodating healthcare needs, KLWC seeks to be the materialisation of healthy living in concrete form. Once fully developed, the purpose-built hub will offer a comprehensive ecosystem of medical, healthcare, wellness and fitness services that go beyond the traditional hospital-centric approach, making it Malaysia's first healthcare-oriented township.
“KLWC has an international tertiary hospital component as its central focus. The adjacent blocks house specialist clinics and other auxiliary healthcare services. There is a block of accommodations and four blocks of land containing retirement residences. All of these are interconnected by weatherproof covered access,” said Dato’ Dr. Colin Lee, Managing Director of KLWC.
Within the second phase, the focus expands to include providing alternative medicine or traditional medicine in the form of supplements, anti-ageing skincare, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and many more. KLWC is set to be completed over a 10-year period and will also encompass medical suites and wellness suites for healthcare travellers, as well as assisted living units and multigenerational units.
Moving up north, Island Hospital has taken the next step in elevating patient care and experiences with its Island Medical City (IMC). Upon completion, IMC further expands on the existing Island Medical Hospital with a new 12-storey hospital building complete with 1,000 beds and a medical tourist hotel, among other ancillary facilities. The recent unveiling of a newly expanded wing of the hospital — dubbed the Peel Wing — as the first phase of IMC reflects its commitment towards progressively accommodating increasing numbers of healthcare travellers.
The Peel Wing extension provides a full spectrum of medical and surgical patient services, including health screenings, cutting-edge oncological therapies, advanced minimally invasive general and cardiothoracic surgery, robotic-assisted surgeries and AI-guided rehabilitation, offering a hint of the full capability of a fully functioning IMC. The wing is connected to the Macalister Wing, the current hospital building, via a first-in-Penang 120-metre underpass walkway. Centres of excellence including the Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy centres are also situated within this wing.
Founder and Director of Island Hospital Mark Wee takes pride in the hospital’s partnerships with some of the industry’s biggest manufacturers, such as Siemens and Philips, which facilitates the delivery of excellent patient care.“Our competence in infrastructure and expertise allows us to maximise patient experience and care. That is exactly what we intend to do with the IMC project. Following the Peel Wing development, the next phase will include a medical complex, suites and a medical tourism hotel. We also intend to restructure the current Macalister wing, which will incorporate a women's and children's hospital, an assisted living complex with geriatric care, or even a retirement village,” he added.
Patient centricity is always at the heart of Malaysia Healthcare, which seeks to ensure that both local and international patients have access to exceptional care and services via a comprehensive integrated patient-centred ecosystem. The KLWC and IMC are two examples of how the country is staying ahead of global trends and demands, allowing healthcare travellers to gain access to a plethora of world-class healthcare facilities and medical personnel in one convenient venue as they experience true care in a safe and trusted destination.
For more information on Malaysia Healthcare and its services, please visit https://malaysiahealthcare.org/ 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 90 private healthcare facilities in Malaysia, who are registered members of MHTC.