The Malaysian Innovative Healthcare Symposium aims to promote and cultivate creative innovation in the local healthcare sector. Featuring nationally renowned experts and thought leaders in the fields of IT and healthcare, MIHS provide an opportunity to discuss and understand important emerging issues relating to healthcare improvement and innovation.Through targeting emerging passionate professionals from all areas of healthcare, we strongly believe that this event will serve as an ideal platform for them to be exposed to powerful ideas, perspectives, and engage with professional leaders in the healthcare and IT industries.

Cedric Chua

Words from Cedric Chua, Chairperson of MIHS 2016

The 1st Malaysian Innovative Healthcare Symposium was a breakthrough success for MPS-YPC. It was designed to galvanise the embracement and adoption of technology in healthcare. As the founding chairperson, I’m proud that we achieved our two-fold objectives – to advance the digital health agenda and to bring different communities together for this cause.

The overwhelming support we received from private and governmental organisations is a testament to the relevance of this groundbreaking event. Evidently, the impressive turnout speaks for itself.

This success is a result of collective efforts, and I attribute it to my hardworking and
dedicated team for their unwavering contribution to this project.

Yuki Tan

Words from Yuki Tan, Chairperson of MIHS 2017

Organizing the 2nd Malaysian Innovative Healthcare Symposium (MIHS) with my dedicated team was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had with Young Pharmacist Chapter (MPS-YPC). Continuing the legacy left by our Founding Chairperson, Cedric Chua, MIHS 2017 had heavily emphasised on a series of technology-based applications in disease management, in hope to encourage our healthcare community to embrace such possibilities, as well as to realize the importance of collaboration between the IT and healthcare professions.

As the previous organizing chairperson, I was delighted that we’ve achieved our ultimate goal, which is to introduce the current & future prospects of digital healthcare in advancing disease management in Malaysia. This was attributed to the insightful and motivational sharing of healthcare & IT experts from both local and overseas settings. Coupled with the enthusiasm shown by our participants throughout the symposium, both speakers and participants significantly contributed to the success of MIHS 2017.

It was a rather humbling experience for me as we began with nothing but an amber of ideas, only through the diligent kindling by my teammates and continuous guidance from MPS-YPC can this event came into fruition.

Lok Kok Hou

Words from Lok Kok Hou, Chairperson of MIHS 2018

‘Innovation’ has been playing a core role in healthcare at a radical scale, improving patient experience whilst making our healthcare service more predictable and manageable. Various disruptive technologies such as Big data, Social media, Robotics and Genomics have formed a cultural transformation, known as ‘Digital Health’ which has eventually led to a new wave of Industrial Revolution. However, skepticism remains due to the lack of clear awareness and understanding of the benefits, risks and use cases of these tools in healthcare.

Since 2016, MPS Young Pharmacists Chapter has conducted the Malaysian Innovative Healthcare Symposium (MIHS) series with the aim of promoting and cultivating a culture of innovation in the local healthcare industry. Heading into its third installment, along with the shift of focus care from disease management, we have decided to set our theme as ‘Healthcare 4.0: Closing The Gap Between Patients & Technology’ which underscores the criticality of cultivating consumer-centric healthcare innovation. It is an area of growing interest as bleeding edge technology becomes increasingly accessible to consumers.

This event will be held on the 6th of October at Monash University Malaysia, featuring nationally renowned experts and thought leaders in the fields of IT and healthcare to look into how technology can act as a catalyst for much of the sweeping changes in the healthcare sector, with a particular emphasis of imparting the value of innovation upon patients.

Sean Liew

Words from Sean Liew, Chairperson of MIHS 2019

Despite the variation of the definition of ‘patient engagement’ from different sources, similar foci is possessed with an ultimate goal of presenting a clinical slant by underscoring and emphasizing the interaction of patients with healthcare providers. This empower the patients to make competent and well-informed choices on their care confidently. Patient engagement always goes beyond a single clinical decision and the four walls of health facilities.

Adapting consumerism-based model and determining effective patient engagement strategies are becoming the priorities in healthcare delivery system and being touted as a potential market differentiator. According to World Health Organization (WHO), by improving health policies, practices, systems, technologies, services, and deliver methods through health innovation, the main keys ‘How the patient Is seen, how the patient is heard and how the patient’s needs are met’ are able to addressed for a better healthcare. With the current advancement in healthcare industry, it is critical for healthcare providers and the healthcare system itself to create and maintain a positive, lasting relationships with their patient, both current and prospective, working to attract as well as keep them into their network.

This year, instead of making health decisions based on conventional decisions, encounters of transactions, Malaysian Innovative Healthcare Symposium 2019, featuring nationally renowned experts and thought leaders in the fields of IT and healthcare, resurgence with a fresh new theme, “Flipping the switch for better patient engagement” set to address patient engagement by exploring and discovering how health innovation can redesign and improve the paradigm of patient continuum care, from pre-care, at the point of care, to post-care.

The proposed event will be held on 17th August 2019 (Saturday) from 8:30am to 4:00pm at Monash University Malaysia. By targeting emerging passionate professionals from all areas of healthcare, we strongly believe that this event will serve as an ideal platform to be exposed to powerful ideas, perspectives, necessary to innovate healthcare.

Jane Lee Jia Jing

Words from Jane, Chairperson of MIHS 2020

Mobile Health (mHealth) describes the use of portable electronic devices and software applications to improve healthcare delivery, clinical decision-making, and patient outcomes. As a pharmacist or pharmacist-to-be, mHealth serves as a useful tool to improve patient engagement, compliance, safety and the quality of life.

This year, MIHS aims to encourage the adoption and promotion of mHealth applications in healthcare settings, to appreciate the potential of mHealth applications in self-care, to understand the benefits of mHealth applications in monitoring health and to explore the challenges faced in the adoption of mHealth applications and identify strategies to overcome them.

The symposium consists of 3 components:

1) Webinar (2 sessions)

To provide a general overview of the mHealth applications in Malaysia. Keynote speakers will be invited to share their knowledge and experience in mHealth applications.

2) Pilot project

After companies (mHealth applications) of different sectors have introduced their respective mHealth applications, participants will represent one of the companies to be their mHealth ambassadors. Over a span of 3 months, ambassadors get to introduce mHealth applications to the public and at the same time gain experience and trust from the public.

3) Reflective session

A reflective session will be conducted for the companies and participants to share their feedback and experience.

Lim Yan Qing

Words from Lim Yan Qing, Chairperson of MIHS 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic changes the way how healthcare is being delivered in the world today. Over a span of several months, society has seen a rise in online consultation, medication delivery, patient education and other remote healthcare provision through telecommunication technology. While focusing on improving the current conventional mode of healthcare delivery to patients, healthcare professionals are encouraged to be innovative and unleash their entrepreneurial side in exploring the potential of telehealth.

This year, MIHS aims to provide a platform for healthcare professionals to generate novel ideas on improving healthcare services using telecommunications technology which will then be put to test through the Big I competition and The Innovator programme. The Big I competition will be held in June in which participants will pitch in their ideas on telehealth. The top 2 finalists will be granted the opportunity to bring their ingenious ideas to reality with the help of MIHS-assigned partners through The Innovator programme which will be held in October.

This is the first time MIHS is going beyond from generating ideas to bringing ideas into reality. By providing a friendly start-up environment and adequate support for beginners, MIHS will serve as an ideal platform for enthusiastic pharma-entrepreneur-to-be to realise their dreams of innovating the healthcare industry.

Chai Jia Min

Words from Chai Jia Min, Chairperson of MIHS 2022

While healthcare services are improving from time to time, ranging in both public and private

sectors, from new-born to the aged, as well as from general to chronic conditions, governments across the world have been working hard in ensuring the accessibility of advanced healthcare services to reach everyone who is needed, especially the most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.

With the theme “The Healthcare Transformer”, established under MIHS 2022, we aim to improve healthcare equity and accessibility, while maintaining a high quality of care for patients. The programme under MIHS 2022 starts with the annual Big ‘I’ Competition, with the topic this year: Mental Well-being of The Society. The main objective of choosing this theme is to provide a friendly platform to students, fresh start-ups, entrepreneurs and anyone with their innovative ideas to showcase their talent, innovations as well as idea pitching skills in improving the mental health care accessibility in Malaysia.