Malaysia
Dedicated Malaysia Healthcare Concierge and Lounge ( MCL ) personnel at the airport
“ Malaysia Healthcare was agile and swift in establishing one of the world ’ s first medical travel bubbles to ensure continuous provision of care , without skimping on patients ’ safety and that of the nation .” experience by 2025 ,” stressed Mohd Daud . The focus will be on five areas : high quality , safety , affordability , hospitality , and a seamless journey .
One key goal in the blueprint is to digitise the patient journey with a digital framework that enhances the patient experience . With travel restrictions hampering face-to-face consultations , telemedicine has played a crucial role in enabling many international patients to receive follow-up care from their doctors in Malaysia . And many Malaysian private hospitals have beefed up online services like teleconsultation to provide continuity of care and electronic medical records systems to make it easier for patients to
access them .
“ Telehealth has emerged to play an important role in supporting the healthcare travel industry , especially with COVID-19 accelerating this process , and we believe it is here to stay ,” he said , adding that the MHTC will continue to facilitate the development of telehealth services .
In addition to digitisation and telemedicine , another key lesson learned from the pandemic is the importance of public-private healthcare cooperation . In Malaysia ’ s case , it was able to lighten the burden that COVID-19 cases placed on Malaysian public hospitals by having private facilities treat all nonurgent elective surgeries , allowing the public system to focus on COVID patients . The private sector was also instrumental in implementing the national vaccination programme against COVID-19 .
This cooperation also enabled the country to keep its medical tourism industry alive . Thanks to a safety framework set up by the Ministry of Health and the National Security Council , some international patients were able to be treated in private hospitals even during travel restrictions .
“ Malaysia Healthcare was agile and swift in establishing one of the world ’ s first medical travel bubbles to ensure continuous provision of care , without skimping on patients ’ safety and that of the nation ,” said Mohd Daud .
The arrangement allowed all healthcare travellers and their companions to enter Malaysia provided that they isolated based on the latest travel entry guideline
Malaysia was also named “ Top Asian Country for Retirement and Healthcare ” from 2018 to 2021 .
42 MARCH 2022 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com