Adapting for better patient care
HOSPITALS in Malaysia should continuously carry out hospital service expansions, push for advancements in medical research, seek continuous renewal of their accreditations and improve patient care experience, says Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) chief executive officer Datuk Dr Aizai Abdul Rahim.
While this effort may seem extensive, Dr Aizai stresses that such moves are necessary for all healthcare facilities in Malaysia today, not just IJN.
Operating in a country that maintains a stable economy and gradually embracing the effects of globalisation, hospitals must find relevance in a society that is experiencing a change in living and eating habits.
Dr Aizai notes that this has also resulted in a change in approach in overall treatment. Modern disease patterns show that a large number of patients with cardiovascular diseases also suffer from comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, chronic kidney disease and lung disease.
This occurrence creates a need for more doctors who can treat all these associated risk factors, on top of the primary condition itself.
Hence, specialist Malaysian hospitals need to formulate strategies to expand their services beyond their focus of care.
Besides that, hospitals must also keep an eye on the Fourth Industrial Revolution as it is only a matter of time before there are rapid changes in patient management and treatment in the industry.
Dr Aizai speaks of collaborating with local universities to find effective ways of employing intensive data analytics and artificial intelligence to revolutionise the way heart patients are treated.
Dr Aizai recognises that these technological advancements are still at the infancy stage, but that does not stop hospitals from improving medical offerings.
“We do not have enough experts in computer programming and computer engineering in hospitals. However, we do have an enormous data set from treating patients.”
From this data set on the local population that covers age, disease patterns and risk factors, hospitals can mine information regarding specific disease patterns to come up with new, viable forms of intervention.
Rising as a country
One possible avenue to bring improvements in patient care is by conducting research.
Dr Aizai says these decisions are crucial for Malaysian health facilities to improve the general quality of patient care and training while also enabling bleeding-edge research endeavours.
“We want Malaysian doctors to be well versed with cutting-edge technology and we want them to continue improving. To achieve this, we need to have partnerships and collaborations with both local and overseas institutions.”
He is positive Malaysia will only continue to rise in the medical field as the country has an abundance of well-trained, talented clinicians. In addition, Malaysia also possesses a large pool of patients, and the data and research collected can be used to improve cardiac care in the country.
Keeping in check
Continuous improvements and keeping up to par with national and international standards are never an easy feat for any hospital.
One highly desirable accreditation is by the Joint Commission International (JCI), the oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in healthcare.
IJN chief operating officer Akmal Arief Mohamed Fauzi illustrates the process of being Jci-accredited.
“The auditing process gets increasingly difficult every time, as the JCI itself updates requirements according to the global standard. Though it is important, a hospital is the last place anyone wants to visit unless it is absolutely necessary. Subjecting hospitals to high-standard audits help patients be assured of the quality of care they receive.”
Serving the people that matter
Operating in a country that maintains a stable economy and gradually embracing the effects of globalisation, hospitals must find relevance in a society that is experiencing a change in living and eating habits.
Regardless of medical advancements and expansion of services, patient needs and experience are the topmost concern for hospitals.
In relation to increasing awareness on health and how Malaysia is looking to become the top country in medical tourism, Dr Aizai elaborates, “We expect an increase in demand for medical services in Malaysia, so hospitals should segmentalise their patient markets according to each group’s needs, so that we can cater to everyone with the same level of quality and care.”
At the same time, Dr Azai stresses it is high time hospitals in Malaysia embrace the concept of becoming “smart” hospitals. While the definition of a smart hospital is varied, Dr Aizai stresses that the soundest approach of becoming a smart hospital is to put patient care and convenience at the centre of all structures.
For this, he states that hospital must leverage on current infrastructure and technology, such as using mobile apps to ease the process of arranging appointments.
All in all, Dr Aizai opines that patient experience is at the core of being a healthcare service provider.
He says, “Patient experience is what differentiates hospitals from each other. Most hospitals will offer the same range of treatment, but the level of patient satisfaction makes all the difference.”
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