Abang Johari places his palm on the tablet to symbolically officiate the summit and ManaDr app while Dr Sim (third left), Ling (third right) and others look on. – Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi

KUCHING: Mobile health technology is a rapidly expanding field in the digital health sector providing healthcare support, delivery and intervention via mobile technologies, says Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.

He pointed out that the advancement in digital technology has made healthcare an increasingly digital affair which can be easily accessible from the palm of one’s hands.

“Patients are increasingly capable of accessing, monitoring and adding information to their healthcare records via mobile devices such as mobile phones, which are currently the most popular platform for mobile health delivery.

“By using recent innovations such as healthcare apps, patients can play a more active role in managing health conditions, sending information in real-time to update professionals and receive advice directly without having to attend to clinics,” he said in his keynote address at the Asean Digital Mobile Health Summit 2019 at a leading hotel here today.

In view of this, he stressed that there is a need to have reliable digital infrastructures in order to be able to transmit and receive real-time signal from one place to another.

“Our internet connectivity must have real-time capability in order for the mobile health industry or any other mobile industry to work.

“For this reason, Sarawak is laying a big capital expenditure to upgrade its digital infrastructure across the length of state via fibre optic, satellite communication, transmission towers, undersea cables and international gateways,” he said, adding that the state is also working towards engaging private sector to invest in setting up a data centre in Kuching given the advantage the state has over other countries such as Singapore which is already congested as a data and network centre.

On the summit, Abang Johari said it should pave the way in cooperation towards an Asean-wide telemedicine guideline and ultimately to build a cross border ecosystem that fosters business opportunities in digital healthcare services as well as medical tourism among Asean countries and beyond.

He added that through this event, it is also to raise awareness on the latest development in global digital and mobile health care industries with sharing from domain experts from around Asean region.

Abang Johari also launched the ManaDr Malaysia app, a user-friendly mobile application which enables patients to see their healthcare providers from the comfort of their own home.

Through the app, he said patients can now have chat and video medicinal consultations with their trusted healthcare providers.

“If a follow-up consultation is required, the patient can either use this app to book an appointment to personally visit the healthcare provider at the clinic, initiate chat, do video consultation, arrange for house visit.

“Apart from that, they can also get their blood test result on their mobile phones,” he remarked.

The inaugural summit was organised by the Asean-China Entrepreneurs Association with support from the Ministry of Health, Sarawak government and the Malaysia Medical Association.

Also present were Local Government and Housing Minister Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian and Asean-China Entrepreneurs Association president Dato Stanley Ling.