INTRODUCTION
Lifetime Achievement Award . As of mid-December , data from Johns Hopkins showed that Malaysia registered roughly 86,600 COVID-19 cases and fewer than 500 deaths , only a tiny fraction of the numbers recorded in the hardest-hit countries like the US , India , and Brazil , where there have been millions of infected patients and hundreds of thousands of deaths .
The pandemic also put medical tourism on its knees , damaging an important revenue source for Malaysian private healthcare providers , a crisis that gave Sherene Azli , the CEO of the Malaysian Healthcare Travel Council ( MHTC ), the chance to prove her skills once again . Under her leadership at the MHTC , the healthcare travel sector has registered breathtaking growth numbers , with more than one million medical travellers flocking to Malaysia in 2019 . And despite the challenges posed by the pandemic , the MHTC was instrumental in creating a medical travel bubble to ensure international patients can still seek treatment in the Southeast Asian nation safely . For all these achievements , she is the deserving recipient of this year ’ s Outstanding Leadership in Healthcare Travel Award . The judging committee also honoured Tan Sri Dato ’ Dr Yahya Awang for his lifelong commitment to improving cardiology care in Malaysia , awarding him the Cardiothoracic Personality of the Year Award .
A pioneering cardiothoracic surgeon , Dr Yahya has been instrumental in the creation of Malaysia ’ s National Heart Centre , also known as IJN , which dramatically improved the level of expertise in cardiovascular care in the country by training local heart surgeons and engaging in advanced research in collaboration with other leading global institutions .
Not satisfied with his remarkable achievements , in 2017 Dr Yahya spurred the creation of another heart
IJN award presentation
hospital , CVSKL , a private integrated cardiac centre that has quickly become a leading institution in the field .
Singapore is another country that implemented measures that successfully limited the spread of the coronavirus thanks to its strong healthcare system and long experience in managing epidemics . So it ’ s natural that many of its hospitals also feature prominently in the awards list .
Mount Elizabeth Hospital was crowned best hospital in the Asia- Pacific ( together with Subang Jaya Medical Centre ) and Singapore , while gaining recognition in several specialities like neurology , spine care , gastroenterology , and stroke care . Gleneagles Hospital Singapore was confirmed as the go-to centre for liver transplants while also winning an award for respiratory care , the field dealing with airways and lungs problems .
Sunway Medical Centre was once again recognised as the best medical tourism hospital in the region and also took prizes in paediatric ophthalmology and fertility .
For the first time since the launch of the annual event , the oncology award featured three subspecialities — medical , surgical , radiation — which were won by Wattanosoth Cancer Hospital , Subang Jaya Medical Centre , and Sunway Cancer and Nuclear Medicine Centre , respectively .
The Malaysian National Heart Centre cemented its role as a regional leader in cardiovascular care , snatching awards in general cardiology , imaging , heart transplantation , and paediatric cardiology .
Prince Court Medical Centre retained its leading position as the best hospital in Malaysia ( together with Subang Jaya Medical Centre ), while being recognised as the best provider in paediatrics , ear , nose and throat ( ENT ) care , and health screening .
Two new entries were the robotic orthopaedics and genetic centre awards , snapped up by Farrer Park Hospital and GenomixLAB ® , respectively . The addition of these categories reinforces the growing importance technology is playing in the medical industry , with robotic surgery making procedures less invasive in a way that improves outcomes and genetic testing providing useful information for the prevention and treatment of several conditions .
Congratulations again to all the winners !
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com DECEMBER 2020
11