Speaking to reporters on Thursday, chairman Eg Kah Yee said SIMC will adopt Palette Multimedia's mobile healthcare platform i-medic for all its doctors and specialists.
"i-medic is a system used for mobile digital medicine that enables patients to take measurements of their vital signs such as blood pressure, oxygen saturation in the blood and electrical activity of the heart with home wireless medical devices.
"Data from these devices are transmitted to a cloud (an internet-based database) where doctors have access and can analyse such data at any time and any place via WiFi," he said after the company's AGM in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
i-medic manages complete patient information because it includes radiology images such as CT Scan, MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), ECG (Electrocardiography) and ultra sound images, among others.
"This is very convenient for both the patients and doctors as they do not need to see each other frequently, but doctors are able to monitor their patients' health based on the data shared in the cloud.
"Just like paying for your house maintenance or car maintenance, i-medic devices maintain your health, and you can do it on your own, any time," Eg said.
Being the first in the world to come up with such a technology, Palette Multimedia expects to generate more profit moving forward, especially after posting losses for three consecutive years.
It is reported that the company had returned to the black in its latest fourth quarter, also turning around for its full year to Dec 31, 2015.
For the fourth quarter to end-Dec 2015, Palette Multimedia recorded a net profit of RM304,000 versus a loss of RM5.32 million previously.
The company had invested more than RM10 million to set up its mobile health business over the last four years.
"We have started to see results from our investment and, moving on, we hope this new business model will be the key driver for the company next year.
"In China, a typical patient pays between RMB30,000 (about RM19,000) and RMB50,000 per year for a treatment and some of this portion will come to us," he said.
Palette Multimedia will also invest in the setup of the mobile healthcare system, providing training, technical support and consultants in managing the centre.
The company will soon offer its services in Asean countries, which will be a big step in promoting international medical tourism. - Bernama
Shanghai International Medical Centre (SIMC) is under Parkway Pantai Group.
Parkway Pantai is one of Asia’s largest integrated private healthcare groups operating in Singapore, Malaysia, India, China, Brunei and United Arab Emirates. For over 40 years, its Mount Elizabeth, Gleneagles, Parkway, ParkwayHealth and Pantai brands have established themselves as the region’s best known brands in private healthcare, synonymous with best-in-class patient experience and outcomes.
Leveraging its global track record for medical excellence and managing world-class hospitals, Parkway Pantai is committed to making a difference in people’s lives through excellent patient care, steadily expanding its reach in markets where demand for quality care is strong and growing.
Parkway Pantai is a leading healthcare player in its home markets of Singapore, Malaysia and India and key growth markets of China and Hong Kong.
It is part of IHH Healthcare, the world’s second largest healthcare group by market capitalisation. IHH operates more than 10,000 licensed beds across 52 hospitals in 10 countries worldwide, offering the full spectrum of integrated healthcare services from clinics to hospitals to quaternary care and a wide range of ancillary services including medical education.
In Singapore, Parkway Pantai is the largest private healthcare operator with four JCI-accredited, multi-specialty tertiary hospitals - Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, Gleneagles Hospital and Parkway East Hospital. It also owns Parkway Shenton, a large network of primary healthcare clinics and services, ParkwayHealth Radiology, ParkwayHealth Laboratory and Parkway College.
In Malaysia, Parkway Pantai is the second largest private healthcare provider operating ten Pantai Hospitals, four Gleneagles Hospitals and ancillary healthcare services including Pantai Integrated Rehab and Pantai Premier Pathology.
India is now its third home market following the acquisition of Continental and Global Hospitals in 2015. Today, Parkway Pantai has a network of 10 hospitals in the key cities of Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai.
Parkway Pantai also has more than 20 patient assistance centres across the globe, providing patients with seamless patient care and a one-stop referral source to its hospitals and services.
