Healthcare plays a significant role in society, especially when there is an outbreak of a disease where timely treatment and information dissemination are crucial. Since the pandemic, digital health has dramatically changed how individuals or patients seek medical attention. It has provided us with an alternative and the most efficient way to improve the deficiencies of the existing medical system and speed up the efficiency of medical treatment.
Now, the policymaker is pushing to digitise healthcare at a breakneck pace to make healthcare accessible for all. The main contribution of the digitised healthcare ecosystem lies with three main areas of interest: patient-centric, diagnostics-centric and R&D centric. Examples include telemedicine, medicine distribution, chronic disease management, personalised medicine, clinical trials, tracking and tracing applications such as MySejahtera. Although we are at the endemic stage, the MySejathera application is used to track the COVID-19 cases and serves as an information hub to disseminate messages from the Ministry of Health (MoH).
At IMU, the Bachelor in Digital Health (Honours) is a programme that blends Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Data Analytics and Healthcare components, providing graduates with more knowledgeable about healthcare organisations, systems and regulations, needs and problems.
The Digital Health programme at IMU is the first undergraduate programme in Malaysia and in Southeast Asia that focuses on digital health. The programme aims to equip students with an in-depth understanding and know-how of the healthcare field, particularly in digital health.
The Digital Health curriculum at IMU provides students with the necessary skills and knowledge to meet the industry needs. The programme is embedded with research-led teaching and an up-to-date structure to meet the ever-changing needs of the IT and healthcare industries. In addition, students have the opportunity to work in a digital health-related company or hospital in their final semester for about 20-weeks as part of the industrial training.
| Career in Digital Health |
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| A career in digital health involves working in a discipline that includes digital care programmes, technologies with health and society to enhance the efficient delivery of healthcare and make medicine more precise and personalised using information and communication technologies to facilitate understanding of health problems and challenges of patients. A professional in digital health works with patient records and data in a healthcare setting and is often employed by healthcare providers such as clinics and hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, commercial insurance companies, medical device manufacturers and governmental or other policy-focused institutions. A digital health professional can also work in project management, analytical, consulting or support capacities, depending on an organisation’s needs. |
“Leveraging on the university teaching staff diversity – including computer science and informatics, biomedical, clinical and health sciences – alongside that of external industrial partners, the Digital Health programme will deliver training across the breadth of computing-related to digital health application such as programming, application development, data analytics including machine learning, artificial intelligence, and digital healthcare ecosystem,” said Dr Tan Ee Xion, IMU’s senior lecturer and programme director of the Digital Health programme.
It is a 3-year programme and is having its the first intake in July and September 2022. Those who joined in July will start the general studies (MPU) modules, followed by the first semester of the Digital Health programme.
The Digital Health programme is open to students from any discipline with at least a pre-university qualification such as Matriculation or Foundation studies with minimum CGPA of 2.0 and a credit in Mathematics at SPM level or its equivalent, or a pass in STPM with a minimum Grade C (GP 2.0) in any two subjects and a credit in Mathematics at SPM level or its equivalent. The programme is also open to diploma holders in any discipline, subject to a rigorous internal assessment process.
After the 3-year Digital Health undergraduate programme, the students can progress to the Master in Health Informatics and Analytics. It is a one-year full-time Master programme, which provides the perfect pathway for Digital Health undergraduates who intend to pursue health informatics and analytics. The students will be more focused on linking and analysing large complex datasets, using techniques that transform medical research and create exciting new commercial opportunities in the healthcare sector.
Wong Jing Xuan
Hi, may i know when is the application period for 2023 intake? May i know is MPU a compulsory module to go through before the degree programme?
IMU News
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