Subang Jaya Medical Centre bags 8 global awards, elevating Malaysia’s medical tourism sector

According to a May 20 press release, Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) has won a series of coveted global and regional healthcare awards recently.

In specific, it won awards at the Frost & Sullivan Awards 2024, GlobalHealth Asia-Pacific Awards 2024, and Healthcare Asia Awards 2024.

“These accolades are proof of our pioneering efforts in the medical field, which demonstrate our dedication to elevating patient care,” said Bryan Lin, the CEO of SJMC.

Incepted in 1985, SJMC is 442-bed multi-disciplinary tertiary hospital provides comprehensive and complex care in all specialities.

Throughout the past 39 years, the medical centre has achieved a myriad of medical firsts. It had conducted Malaysia’s first open-heart surgery, stem cell, and paediatric liver transplants, adult and paediatric bone marrow transplants, and brain neurosurgery, just to name a few.

In 2021, the medical centre performed the country’s first total knee replacement on-day surgery where the patient could return home on the same day. 

SJMC is also one of the few internationally accredited Joint Commission International (JCI) hospitals in Malaysia.

Awarded on multiple fronts

At the Frost & Sullivan Awards 2024, SJMC continued its winning streak as the “Best Hospital Company of the Year in Malaysia” for the fourth consecutive year. SJMC is the first to be recognised continuously with this accolade.

According to the press release, a key innovation by SJMC highlighted this year is the introduction of SeniorConnect, Malaysia’s first remote patient monitoring system.

This innovation also earned SJMC the first “GlobalHealth MedTech Awards 2024 for Excellence in Digital Health”. This award signifies the hospital’s leadership in digital health solutions like telemedicine, remote patient monitoring, and AI-powered diagnostics.

Meanwhile, SJMC’s achievements at the GlobalHealth Asia-Pacific Awards 2024 include not one, not two, but five notable wins.

For the third time, it was recognised as the “Best Hospital of the Year in the Asia Pacific”.

SJMC’s person-centred care approach also brought them the “Multi-Disciplinary Oncology Service Provider of the Year in Asia Pacific”.

The hospital also took home the “Advanced Genetic Centre Provider of the Year” award for its advanced laboratory solutions. This includes the Express Next Generation Sequencing for solid tumours and liquid biopsies, a first in Southeast Asia.

At the GlobalHealth Asia-Pacific Awards 2024, SJMC got the “Diabetes Service Provider of the Year” and the “CSR Service of the Year” award.

CSR, which stands for corporate social responsibility, references substantial social initiatives.

SJMC was able to fulfil this responsibility through efforts such as its Global Surgery Initiative (GSI), a public-private partnership in Malaysia with the Malaysian Society of Anaesthesiologists. Supported by the Ministry of Health, they delivered critical surgical care to over 50 underserved patients in rural Sarawak.

There was also a “If Not Now, When? #endcervicalcancer” campaign that provided over 300 women with complimentary HPV screening kits. Meanwhile, its Nurse Quest Programme engaged over 80 senior high school students in exploring nursing careers.

These community initiatives additionally brought SJMC Healthcare Asia Awards 2024’s “ESG Programme of the Year—Malaysia” award.

Solidifying Malaysia as a medical tourism hotspot

Malaysia has long been recognised as a medical tourism destination.

After all, the National Committee for the Promotion of Medical and Health Tourism (NCPMHT) was formed by the Ministry of Health in January 1998. It was replaced by the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) in 2009.

According to an article by The Star, the MHTC aims to generate RM2.4 billion in revenue from the health tourism sector in 2024, which is expected to contribute an economic spillover to other industries of about RM9.6 billion.

MHTC CEO Dr Mohamed Ali Abu Bakar said Malaysia recorded more than one million health tourist arrivals in 2023, an increase of more than 15% compared to the total arrivals in 2022.

Contributing to that is SJMC, which welcomes both local patients across Malaysia and international patients across the Asia Pacific.

Recognised as a flagship medical tourism hospital by the MHTC and fully endorsed by the Malaysian Ministry of Health, SJMC is helping establish Malaysia as a globally renowned icon for healthcare travel.

And this series of accolades only serve to propel SJMC—and Malaysia by extension—as a medical tourism destination.

Featured Image Credit: Subang Jaya Medical Centre