A new memorandum of understanding has been signed between HIMSS and the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council.

Based on the agreement, HIMSS will serve as MHTC's strategic partner to strengthen the Malaysian healthcare ecosystem through digital transformation. 

Founded in 2009, MHTC is a government agency under Malaysia's Ministry of Health that is responsible for promoting the country's healthcare travel industry. It works with industry players and service providers to make Malaysia a leading global healthcare destination under the "Malaysia Healthcare" brand.

In this partnership, HIMSS will engage leading hospitals in Malaysia to work on their accreditations for the HIMSS Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) through Stage 7. The MHTC will then recommend the HIMSS EMRAM, which measures a facility's EMR maturity, to all of its 73 member hospitals. 

The collaboration also seeks to develop Malaysia's healthcare travel industry in line with the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Industry Blueprint 2021-2025. It covers four areas:

• Knowledge sharing and capacity building initiatives to push for continuous digital and technology adoption in the Malaysia Healthcare ecosystem;

• Strategic thought leadership initiatives to build a value proposition for Malaysia by leveraging both parties' resources, expertise, and capabilities in healthcare travel and wellness;

• Leverage HIMSS' regional and global network as well as thought leadership platforms to profile and increase Malaysia Healthcare's reach, especially in identified focus markets; and 

• Forge new avenues for strategic industry collaboration to prepare Malaysia’s private hospitals to adopt digital maturity models and engage in government-to-government partnerships for knowledge sharing.

WHY IT MATTERS

MHTC is taking a unified and collaborative approach to digitalisation to redefine the patient experience. Amid the transition to an endemic era, it recognises the need for continued innovation and digitalisation to push the healthcare travel industry forward while ensuring sustainable growth. 

"Leveraging HIMSS' expertise in digital and technology and its vast network across the globe, we can forge more pathways for the industry to strengthen our digital and technological capabilities and explore new avenues to amplify the Malaysia Healthcare brand," said MHTC CEO Mohd Daud Mohd Arif.  

ON THE RECORD

"Having served the global health community for more than 60 years, HIMSS has a strong track record in providing thought leadership insights and consultancy in improving the quality, safety, cost-effectiveness, and accessibility of healthcare through best practices in information technology and management systems. We are pleased to partner with MHTC and having Malaysia as part of our global network, working together with us in advancing the transformation of the global health ecosystem through the power of information and technology," Simon Lin, HIMSS VP and Executive Director for Asia-Pacific, commented.