Malaysia has debuted its first-of-its-kind Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital Programme, announcing the four (4) shortlisted finalists for the programme, namely National Heart Institute (Institut Jantung Negara), Island Hospital, Mahkota Medical Centre, and Subang Jaya Medical Centre. This represents a significant step forward for Malaysia's healthcare industry in achieving its goal of providing the Best Malaysia Healthcare Travel Experience by 2025.

The shortlisted finalists were carefully selected through an extensive and rigorous qualifying process in 2022 that involved data analysis and on-site assessments. Further to this, the finalists are advancing into the next phase of the programme, the Acceleration Period, which will continuously assess their growth and development against best practices and benchmarks in medical and service excellence, as well as international branding, over a three-year period.

Spearheaded by Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), the programme has witnessed Malaysia's top hospitals increasing their commitment and efforts to raise the bar of excellence in delivering exceptional end-to-end services to their patients, all with the goal of reinforcing Malaysia's position as a safe and trusted destination for top-notch healthcare services, and elevating excellence in medical and service offerings. This will raise Malaysia Healthcare's profile as home to globally recognised healthcare icons.

"The progress we have witnessed today with the Flagship programme is a testament to the drive and focus of becoming the future torchbearer for Malaysia Healthcare, not only locally but also internationally, significantly contributing to the country's export service. I trust that the Flagship programme will promote innovation and excellence in medical services and bring us closer to achieving a more resilient healthcare system for the country and establish Malaysia Healthcare as a world-renowned and credible global healthcare brand," said Dr. Zaliha Mustafa, Minister of Health Malaysia.

"Fully endorsed by the Government, the Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital Programme is aimed at propelling the private healthcare sector into a future-forward paradigm. The outcome of this concerted effort between the public and private industry players will result in elevated private healthcare services to deliver seamless end-to-end patient experiences anchored upon outcome-based medical excellence, service excellence best practices and international branding," explained Mohd Daud Mohd Arif, Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC).

Malaysia, a popular global destination for healthcare travellers, has won numerous awards, including the coveted "Destination of the Year" title by UK-based healthcare travel authority International Medical Travel Journal (IMTJ) numerous times in recent years. The country's solid reputation as a destination for travel and healthcare attracted 1.06 million^[1] European tourists and 1.22 million^[2] healthcare travellers in 2019 alone. These numbers are expected to ramp up as countries across the world move towards endemicity.

MHTC is optimistic that the programme will fast-track the healthcare travel industry's recovery and growth. Building upon the positive growth recorded in 2022 - recording more than RM1.3 billion Healthcare Traveller (HT) revenue, reaching 76% of its pre-pandemic performance of RM1.7 billion in 2019, MHTC is intensifying its efforts to forge industry sustainability and resilience to further enhance Malaysia Healthcare's offerings, providing the best healthcare to the healthcare travellers.

"The programme will also play a catalytic role in expediting international recognition of the hospitals in Malaysia. With the commitment and active participation of the hospitals in delivering medical excellence and service excellence towards attaining international branding, we look forward to further cementing our strengths and carving a niche in clinical research while expanding Malaysia Healthcare's market presence," added Mohd Daud.

The Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital Programme is a collaborative effort between MHTC and global medical accreditation bodies IQVIA and Joint Commission International (JCI). IQVIA is a global leader in advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services for the life sciences industry, while JCI is an accreditation body that works to improve patient safety and healthcare quality in the international community through education, publications, advisory services, and international accreditation and certification.

"The excellent medical care and services that local and international patients can receive from these hospitals, including niche treatments in areas like cardiology, oncology, fertility, orthopaedics, neurology and aesthetics, have undoubtedly led to these hospitals receiving this accreditation," said Jonathan Roberts, IQVIA's General Manager for Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.

"It is my great hope that these flagship medical tourism hospitals will serve as a model for other private healthcare facilities and centres to continue bolstering their efforts to achieve a cohesiveness that employs both medical and service excellence through process, technological and talent enhancement while continuously improving end-to-end patient experience," said Jean Courtney, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Joint Commission International (JCI).