Inaugural Malaysian Innovative Healthcare Symposium Led by IMU Alumnus

The 1st Malaysian Innovative Healthcare Symposium (MIHS) is a special initiative by the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society-Young Pharmacists Chapter (MPS-YPC) under the leadership of Cedric Chua, an IMU BPharm alumnus. The symposium is organised with the aim of promoting and cultivating innovation in the local healthcare sector. Themed ‘Digital Healthcare in Malaysia: Where We Are and Where We Want to be’, the emphasis of this year’s edition was on exploring cutting-edge innovations and fostering dynamic conversation addressing the role of technology in advancing modern medicine, healthcare and wellness. Featuring nationally renowned experts and thought leaders in the fields of IT and Healthcare, the agenda also looked at the opportunities and challenges in this fledgling industry, with a strong focus on idea execution. Held at IMU on 19 November 2016, the event drew a commendable turnout of 196 people. The organisers were grateful to have the support of 5 sponsors, namely IMU, MSD, Salud Asia, Selangor Government, and Tourism Selangor in executing the event.

The symposium was conducted in 3 sessions; a keynote speech followed by breakout sessions and subsequently a forum. While the keynote speech by Dr Pawel Suwinski (Malaysian Genomics Research Center, MGRC) served as a good head-start for participants in understanding the current outlook as well as prospects of healthcare technology as a whole, the breakout sessions were crucial in exposing them to recent developments in digital healthcare, particularly in the field of Big Data Analytics by Mr William Yap (Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation), Artificial Intelligence and Electronic Health Record by Mr Leon Jackson (Strateq Group), Precision Medicine by Prof A Jai Mohan (Director of Learning Resources, IMU) and Healthcare Entrepreneurship by Dr Prathaban (Door2Door Doctor). The symposium ended with a forum that tackled the opportunities and challenges of adopting digital healthcare locally, with a strong emphasis on execution. We are very fortunate to have Jerry Hang (Founder of GetDoc Technologies) and our alumni, Dr Benjamin Cheah (Deputy Medical Director, IMU Healthcare) and Ng Khai Yong (Head of Marketing, NEXT Academy) to share with us their insights in healthcare related challenges.

Overall, the event has been lauded a success.

Comments by Participants on the Symposium

It gave me a clear grasp of where healthcare and IT is, at the present moment and where it is going in the future.

The whole event went smoothly and successfully. It was a new experience as well as a platform for pharmacy students to gain additional knowledge.

Excellent speakers. It was full of innovative information in introducing a wide range of healthcare fields

This is where people gather, this is where it begins. I believe the event can grow even bigger and attract more people because what is done here definitely will bring a positive outcome to the community and to Malaysia

It is an inspiring and interesting event, and the flow of event is well organised. I really look forward for more of such events in the future

Cedric Chua, Chairperson, MIHS:

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 ground breaking 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. – Thank you!

Both organisers and participants concurred that the event has been conducted satisfactorily. Nevertheless, suggestions and constructive input from the floor were received with an open heart and were made note of for the betterment of future events.