MAHKOTA MEDICAL CENTRE - Taking a step-by step Smart Digital Approach

The key features of an ideal hospital ward would include the elimination of manual data entry for connected devices for greater accuracy and reduced risk of human error, as well as real-time monitoring of patient vital signs and clinical data. This comes with real-time patient monitoring through wearable sensors, interactive bedside terminals for patients to access their medical information, an automated bed system for patient positioning, streamlined nurse call systems, and seamless integration with the hospital’s EMR. Moreover, patient-centred tools will provide real-time updates on discharge plans, procedures, and meal schedules.

This is the technology of a ‘Smart Ward’.

Smart wards will harness digital technology to provide better and safer care to patients. They will also allow nurses to spend more time on patient care, healthcare professionals to devote more time to critical tasks, and everyone to do their jobs more efficiently.

Accelerating the speed of digital adoption

At Mahkota Medical Centre (MMC), that future may have already arrived, with the launch of Malaysia’s First Next-Gen Smart Ward in November 2024.

“This marks a significant milestone in our ambition of becoming a truly smart hospital,” said Teo Chin Yee, Chief Executive Officer of Mahkota Medical Centre. “With real-time updates, our healthcare professionals can respond more quickly and accurately, enabling our nurses and doctors to dedicate more quality time to patients. The streamlined design of the Next-Gen Smart Ward also ensures personalised care while empowering our healthcare professionals to resolve issues with greater efficiency.”

One field where MMC has advanced dramatically is in the important area of electronic medical records (EMR), which it fully adopted in 2023 after completing its first stage in 2011. After much trial and error, they have now secured their place at EMRAM Stage 4 and will inevitably reach Stage 6, one of the highest industry standards for EMR management.

“I’m very proud of the milestones and the steps we’ve taken towards being a Smart Hospital. We’re taking it phase by phase. First the Smart Ward, next will be our Smart OT, and then we’ll gear up for a full-fledged automated and seamless Smart Hospital status,” Teo said.

The aim of digital automation in hospitals is to make patients more comfortable and help healthcare providers, both doctors and nurses, respond more quickly to emergencies. Smart data processing technology allows patients to connect with smart devices that collect vital signs and health data.

“Our nurses are now relieved from paper trails and continuous data input. Everything is available on the screen dashboard in the ward, which can then communicate with smartphone applications and send the information to a physician, hospital staff, or cloud platform. From the number of patients, their allergies, the food intake, the surgery date and time, and live vital signs, all are within a touch on the dashboard. The ward may be ‘smart’ but our nurses work ‘smarter,” Teo elaborated.

The recent implementation of the Next-Gen Smart Ward initiative at MMC, however, is just the beginning. Over the next two years, MMC plans to roll out similar technologies across all its wards and introduce smart operating theatres (OT), creating a fully integrated smart hospital environment that will further elevate the quality of care delivered to their patients. Currently, two Smart Wards are in place, and while the hardware is only available in those two, the hospital’s full patient data are all available securely.

“The Smart OT will work similarly, cutting the channels of coordination between different departments and personnel towards a more automated approach, all for a seamless patient experience before and after their surgeries,” she said.

MMC is fully owned and managed by Health Management Int. Limited (HMI Medical), while its information technology, data privacy, and cyber security affairs are managed by HMI Malaysia. This allows MMC to put their full focus on technology advancement and digitalisation initiatives. 

Thanks to MMC, Malaysia is now the second country after Singapore to employ the hinotori™ Surgical Robot System, the first robotic-assisted surgery system born in Japan. This and other investments in new medical equipment will continue to position MMC at the cutting edge. Currently, MMC owns a HIFU (High Intensive Focus Ultrasound) machine, which is reserved for treating women’s diseases without surgery. Diagnostic equipment, MRIs, CT Scans, radiation scans for tomotherapy, and PET-Scans are also part of MMC’s high-tech toolbox. Added to that are MMC’s PSMA Scan, an imaging test that helps detect prostate cancer, and an FDA-approved scan, the only one in Malacca and Negeri Sembilan thus far.

Teo Chin Yee, CEO of Mahkota Medical Centre

Getting the buy-in

As in most organisations, transformations and changes to a long-standing culture of work are often met with reservations and skepticism. The minority will stick to what they know best, but the majority knows that digital transformation is no longer a nice-to-have but a requirement in terms of long-term business success.

MMC is a 30-year establishment with more than 100 full-time consultants and doctors who may not be easy to convince about the need for radical change. But Teo knew that to compete, you needed to embrace the future. This is why all the staff, from management and doctors to the nurses and administrative staff, have undergone hours of training, trial, and testing so that everyone sees and speaks the same vision. Today, MMC is not only leading the healthcare landscape in Malacca but is also one of the preferred medical destinations in all of Southeast Asia.

“An ideal Smart MMC for me is the stage where we are able to communicate with our patients with just a touch. A touch to go cashless, a touch to prep our patients before therapy or surgery, a touch to alert them of their insurance approval, a touch for everything that a patient shouldn’t have to worry about. That’s my Smart MMC,” said Teo, as she envisions MMC’s future.

View The Full Listing Here: Mahkota Medical Centre

Full Article & Source: Issue 1, Page 56 & 57 - The Smart Hospitals of The Future Will Be Without Walls