HEALTH Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa and Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) announced four shortlisted finalists for Malaysia’s first-of-its-kind Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital Programme — Institut Jantung Negara (IJN), Island Hospital, Mahkota Medical Centre and Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC).
They will be advancing into the next phase — the acceleration period — which will assess their development against best practices and benchmarks in medical and service excellence as well as international branding, from 2023 to 2025.
During this time, the finalists will be granted several incentives, including fast-track facilitation to support development milestones, flexibility of testing concepts with a healthcare technology sandbox, access to programme mentors and advisors, progress assessment and monitoring, and a special investment tax allowance (ITA).
According to Dr Zaliha, she trusts that the flagship programme will promote excellence in medical services and bring us closer to achieving a more resilient healthcare system for the country while establishing MHTC as a credible healthcare brand.
“I am pleased to announce the provision of the special ITA, which will enable the finalists to make qualifying capital expenditures to support their growth plans.”
The Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital Programme is expected to play a significant role in the nation’s progress and development. This will have a positive impact on the country’s socio-economic development, including increased job opportunities for Malaysians, which will boost township and district-level development.
Simultaneously, MHTC CEO Mohd Daud Mohd Arif commented, “By 2025, our vision is to see the Flagship Medical Tourism Hospitals in the international spotlight as globally competitive market leaders.
“We also look forward to driving direct investments in healthcare of up to RM250 mil per hospital and increasing the nation’s revenue from healthcare travellers by 30% over the next three years.”
The Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital Programme is a collaborative effort between MHTC and global medical accreditation bodies IQVIA, a leading name in the life sciences industry, and accreditation body Joint Commission International (JCI).
“To provide patient-centric care rooted in quality and safety, hospitals and other care facilities must commit to compliance with evidence-based standards and best practices. The selected hospitals have shown their commitment to patient safety and quality care,” emphasised JCI interim president and CEO Jean Courtney.
Furthermore, IQVIA’s Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam general manager Jonathan Roberts stated that the hospitals have demonstrated that they are capable of taking Malaysia’s healthcare landscape to higher levels; they are on par with global standards alongside having cutting-edge treatment offerings and astute aspirations for the future of healthcare.
Building upon the positive growth recorded in 2022 of more than RM1.3 bil in healthcare traveler (HT) revenue, MHTC is optimistic that the programme will fast-track the healthcare travel industry’s recovery and intensify its efforts to further enhance MHTC’s offerings, providing the best healthcare to the public and healthcare travellers. — March 16, 2023
