Digital Health Malaysia’s (DHM) Telemedicine 4.0 conference was held as part of Digital Health Week in collaboration with the 6th International Conference on Bio-Sensing Technology.
Telemedicine 4.0 brought together policymakers, industry and academia as well as medical practitioners and providers to support digital health initiatives in Malaysia.
Health Ministry Director-General opened the two-day conference with the theme “4th Industrial Revolution in Healthcare” at Grand Dorsett Subang in Selangor where participants learned about current trends in technology and its implementation in healthcare.
Digital transformation is underway across all industries and healthcare is no exception. Clinical medicine has been evolving rapidly while episodic care is now replaced with continuous monitoring of patients remotely through patient input and biosensors, according to the DHM Organising Committee Chairman, a professor of paediatrics, consultant paediatrician and child neurologist.
It was noted that a comprehensive digital roadmap is crucial and requires cooperation from all parties.
Panellists and speakers at Telemedicine 4.0 included senior government officials from the Health Ministry Planning Division and the Health Ministry Disease Control Division; high-ranking industry players and academicians and experts in healthcare technology.
These speakers provided insight into how technology is being applied in various healthcare circumstances.
The conference was supported by the British High Commission Kuala Lumpur, Department for International Trade Malaysia, Health Ministry and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
Telemedicine in Malaysia is seeing growth and is expected to log even further development.
In March 2019, the data-centric telco, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Malaysian insurance and family takaful provider, strengthening their working relationship.
The MOU will see the telco collaborating with the insurance firm to explore 5G trials on digital health use cases. Secondly, the two parties will leverage each other’s strengths, capabilities and network of providers to potentially build a digital health ecosystem.
Penang will also hold tech fest
Meanwhile, the Malaysian state of Penang announced that it will hold the world’s first Techfest2020 as well as hosting to the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) 2020. The events will both of which will take place in September 2020.
The state’s Chief Minister stated that the 10-day Techfest2020 will be held at multiple venues within the state, mainly within the George Town heritage area.
Techfest2020 is a state initiative together with the National ICT Association of Malaysia (Pikom) and enabled by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).
The aim is to, via competitions and panel discussions, showcase new tech trends and innovations from Malaysia and across the world.
Six main clusters of interest will be explored encompassing digital lifestyle, ethical technology, experiential technology, social and interactive, business transformation, and urban innovation.
45,000 visitors are expected, in addition to the 4,000 of international participants of WCIT. By organising the festival in Penang, the Malaysian government hopes to see greater investment in the state. Moreover, the aim is to showcase how digital technology will influence life over the next 10 years.
Malaysia is pushing boundaries in more than just telemedicine. In opening its states to local and international tech talent and innovation, the country is truly becoming a hub in which technological collaborations can be made and ideas can be sparked.
The government is heavily involved in the promotion and organisation of events and platforms which further an agenda that centres technology and digital transformation, the benefits of which are already apparent in the country.
