A new private collaboration in Malaysia aims to equip rural clinics with telehealth capabilities over the next two years.

Rural broadband service provider MEASAT and local health IT company Mudah Healthtech have signed a memorandum of understanding to enable the delivery of digital healthcare services in rural and remote communities. 

They aim to deliver up to 2,000 Sihat Xpress telehealth kiosks by Mudah to at least 1,000 rural doctors serving in areas covered by CONNECTme NOW, MEASAT's satellite broadband service.

MEASAT and Mudah officially launched their partnership by unveiling their first telehealth kiosk at Kg Togop Darat 1, a village in Ranau, Sabah. 

WHY IT MATTERS

About a million residents live in nearly 4,000 broadband hotspots covered by MEASAT's service in rural Malaysia. 

The Sihat Xpress telehealth kiosks will allow them to seek online consultations for various non-emergency medical concerns. They can also self-check their blood oxygen level, blood pressure, body temperature, as well as blood glucose soon.

Equipping rural health facilities with telehealth capabilities can ultimately help reduce overcrowding and long wait times, MEASAT noted in a statement. 

Making the self-service telehealth kiosks available to rural residents will also empower them to take control of their health, raising health literacy and preventing them from developing non-communicable diseases.

THE LARGER CONTEXT

Enabling equitable access to quality healthcare is one of the Malaysian government's priorities for health. In its 12th Malaysia Plan for 2021-2025, the federal government has outlined several initiatives to meet this challenge, including leveraging emerging technologies and adopting industry 4.0 technologies such as AI and big data analytics. The expansion of virtual clinic services has also been planned. 

Contributing to efforts in digitising healthcare in Malaysia, the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council last year signed a memorandum of understanding with HIMSS to help hospitals get assessed and accredited for the latter's digital maturity models.

ON THE RECORD

"We believe that telehealth services through Sihat Xpress have a role to play in addressing the lack of medical professionals in remote areas and help residents obtain medical advice more conveniently without travelling long distances. This is in line with our own efforts to send mobile laboratories to remote districts to conduct medical check-ups and our encouragement of integration and collaboration between the government, private sector, and the public to increase awareness on healthcare and improve wellbeing," Flovia Ng, Assistant Minister of Community Development and People's Wellbeing for Sabah, said during the launch of MEASAT and Mudah's telehealth partnership. 

"Through digital healthcare, we aim to help reduce the healthcare delivery gap in remote communities, empowering rural residents to proactively monitor their health via routine checks and online consultations without spending time and money travelling long distances to a healthcare facility," MEASAT COO Yau Chyong Lim also said.