KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 2 — The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Malaysia’s first digital health care platform, DoctorOnCall, to facilitate continuity of patient care.
The collaboration sees MHTC’s 75 member hospitals getting access to the platform’s digital health care capabilities to provide telehealth services, allowing health care travellers to continue consultations with doctors in Malaysia in light of travel restrictions.
The unprecedented turn of events such as the closing of international borders have disrupted several of the nation’s key economic sectors, including health care travel, which saw a negative impact of over 50 per cent in revenue reduction. However, it has played to its strengths, ensuring industry resilience and future recovery through digital services and platforms to address the needs of health care travellers.
“Throughout the pandemic, our member hospitals continued to receive enquiries from those seeking health care services in Malaysia. We’ve been working closely with these member hospitals towards fulfilling that need and providing a safe albeit virtual access to doctors and specialists via digital channels. Our partnership with DoctorOnCall is a step in the right and necessary direction as we look to develop additional telehealth support for our patients. This also further enhances Malaysia’s position as a trusted destination for medical treatments anchored around quality, affordability, and accessibility,” said Yazmin Azman, Acting Chief Executive Officer of MHTC.
“Since our inception in 2017, DoctorOnCall has grown from a platform for virtual consultations to one offering e-pharmacy, medication delivery, doctor and specialist bookings, and health content to over two million patients who visit our platform monthly. It is our honour to partner with a brand like Malaysia Healthcare and extend that range of accessibility in health care to foreign patients who place their trust in our skilled doctors. We look forward to this partnership and contributing to the health care travel sector as a key driver in the nation’s economic growth,” said Maran Virumandi, Managing Director & Co-Founder of DoctorOnCall.
The Covid-19 pandemic has seen an encouraging growth in telehealth services such as virtual consultations and is expected to grow exponentially in Asia Pacific over the next five years. Telehealth, in the current global scenario, serves as a means for maintaining continuity in patient care and also managing additional costs associated with health care travel. Combining affordability with telehealth initiatives will be key for industry recovery moving forward, presenting an opportunity to better facilitate doctor-patient communications.
“Our collaboration with DoctorOnCall is only the beginning for MHTC to embark further in digital health care as a key component in delivering superior healthcare services to foreign patients. We definitely welcome other digital providers in the industry to reach out to us to explore areas of collaboration in improving patient experience and to elevate Malaysia’s standing as the world’s health care marvel,” added Yazmin.
As Malaysia moves into the post-pandemic recovery stage, health care travel has been earmarked as a key sector for growth for the nation’s travel and tourism industry aligned to the National Tourism Policy (DPN) 2020-2030. Along with enhancing digital support for foreign patients, Malaysia Healthcare will continue to strengthen its position as the Fertility and Cardiology Hubs of Asia, in addition to promoting the country’s unique proposition as a wellness destination, inviting travellers to seek health and wellness treatments in Malaysia once border restrictions ease.