Global Health Asia-Pacific December 2020 December 2020 | Page 16

JUDGING COMMITTEE

A seasoned healthcare expert , Dr Jacob Thomas speaks on some of the awards winners

Now one of Malaysian healthcare ’ s senior administrators , Dr Jacob Thomas began his career in public and private hospitals as an emergency medicine physician . Throughout his long career , the Group Medical Advisor at Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care has become keenly aware of how the best in the industry have become that way , especially during his stint as the Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia ’ s president for over 10 years .
Mixing his expert knowledge of medical practice and hospital management , Dr Jacob has a unique perspective on what is required to excel in Asia-Pacific healthcare .
“ Every year , Global Health Asia- Pacific looks at centres of excellence and at hospitals that have done well , especially in the field of medical tourism . A lot of importance to hospitals which have embarked on medical tourism in a big way and attracted patients from around the region and from elsewhere in the world as well ,” Dr Jacob said .
The judging process is straightforward , he explained . The judging committee invite entries from hospitals , clinics , and a number of other organisations for their appraisal . These entries fall into a number of different categories , for which the best are then shortlisted .
Dato ’ Dr Jacob Thomas
The shortlists are subsequently passed to the 12 members of the jury who assess each entrant on its merits . A decision is then made as to which one would be the most worthy winner of each category award , while two other finalists are also recognised alongside it . The jury members are notable physicians and health administrators from across Southeast Asia , ranging from Malaysia and Indonesia to the key healthcare tourism destinations of Singapore , Thailand and Vietnam .
14 DECEMBER 2020 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com