Choo Yong Chek, Senior Business Development Executive, Island Hospital; Josephine Wong, Senior Marketing Manager, Island Hospital; Dr Koo Jian Wei, COO, Island Hospital; Yang Berhormat Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Minister of Health Malaysia; Lim Kooi Ling, CEO, Island Hospital; Yang Berbahagia Dato' Sri Suriani binti Dato' Ahmad, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health Malaysia; Suriaghandi Suppiah, CEO, Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council; Dr H'ng Peng Kiat, Medical Director, Island Hospital; and Tan Kheng Wei, Senior Business Development Manager, Island Hospital.
Photo courtesy of Island Hospital
Island Hospital, a private specialist hospital under IHH Healthcare Malaysia, has become Malaysia's flagship medical tourism hospital.
Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), the lead agency tasked to promote Malaysia's healthcare travel industry, declared the Penang-based hospital the winner of the Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital (FMTH) Programme 2025, as the country welcomed about 1.6 million healthcare travellers, generating RM2.72 billion ($666 million) in revenue.
According to MHTC, Island Hospital will serve as the "national ambassador hospital that upholds Malaysia's identity as a destination where medical excellence, trusted care, and authentic hospitality converge." The hospital employs more than 120 specialist doctors across cardiology, oncology, orthopaedics, gastroenterology and neurology.
It bested other finalists, including Malaysia's largest heart hospital, Institut Jantung Negara, Mahkota Medical Centre, Melaka, and Subang Jaya Medical Centre.
The multi-year programme, launched in 2021, shortlisted the four finalists, which, from 2022, underwent bi-annual progress reviews, strategic mentorship, tailored capability-building programmes, joint marketing efforts with government partners, and independent evaluations by global authorities, Joint Commission International (JCI) and IQVIA Consulting Group APAC (IQVIA).
Healthcare IT News caught up with Island Hospital CEO Lim Kooi Ling to unpack what the FMTH recognition means for them and how digitalisation and data-driven workflows factored into its win, after it welcomed about 700,000 international patients from over 80 countries since 2022. She also shared the technologies shaping international patient journey, the measurable impact of the hospital's digital initiatives, and how they plan to scale medical tourism through further tech investment.
Q: Congratulations on your latest win as Malaysia's flagship medical tourism hospital. What does this recognition mean for a specialist hospital like you, and how does digitalisation factor in it?
A: This recognition is a major milestone for Island Hospital and affirms our position as a leading specialist and quaternary care centre in Malaysia. It validates our commitment to delivering world-class clinical outcomes supported by strong service excellence. For us, digitalisation is integral — not an add-on. Our digital ecosystem enhances every touchpoint of the patient journey, improving safety, efficiency, and overall patient experience, especially for international patients who rely on seamless coordination.
Q: Island Hospital was evaluated on innovation and operational performance. Can you describe the specific digital tools or platforms that most strongly contributed to your top performance in the FMTH assessment? How did you set yourself apart from the three other finalists?
A: Our performance in the FMTH assessment was driven by an integrated digital ecosystem that enhances the patient journey from pre-arrival to post-visit. Key digital tools include:
- An AI-powered International Patient Service chatbot, which provides instant responses and automatically schedules appointments, as well as airport pickup scheduling.
- A mobile app with real-time queue tracking, which allows patients to monitor their turn and enjoy a more relaxed waiting experience.
- Complete electronic medical records (EMR) that are integrated across all clinical departments to support accurate, efficient care coordination.
- Business analytics dashboards that guide targeted marketing efforts, operational planning, and management decision-making.
- Post-visit WhatsApp Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey, sent to every patient to collect real-time feedback at scale and identify improvement opportunities quickly and consistently.
These combined capabilities allowed us to deliver a more seamless, responsive, and data-driven patient experience — setting us apart from the other FMTH finalists.
These digital technologies are deployed to manage the end-to-end journey for international patients, from pre-arrival coordination to follow-up care once they return home.
Q: What measurable improvements have you seen tied to your digital initiatives, such as waiting time reductions, faster diagnostics, improved safety metrics, or higher satisfaction scores among international patients?
A: Our digital initiatives have led to measurable improvements across patient experience, operational efficiency, and international patient engagement. Key outcomes include:
- Higher satisfaction scores, especially among international patients, supported by real-time feedback collected through our automated WhatsApp NPS survey.
- Improved waiting experience, as patients can track their queue in real time and move freely around the hospital instead of being confined to waiting areas.
- Faster response times and improved service consistency through our AI-enabled enquiry and appointment system.
- Better clinical coordination and reduced delays through full EMR integration.
- Targeted and cost-efficient marketing strategies, particularly for international markets like Indonesia. By understanding patient behaviour and demand patterns more accurately, we are able to deploy resources more effectively and attract the right patient segments with higher precision.
Q: Now that Island Hospital has been named Malaysia's flagship medical tourism hospital, what new digital capabilities or technology investments are planned to strengthen your position and support greater medical tourism demand, especially from Indonesia and the region?
A: We are accelerating our digital roadmap with a focus on Indonesia and neighbouring markets. Key areas include: enhanced digital marketing and SEO, supported by business analytics-driven market segmentation for precise targeting; expansion of virtual concierge services, allowing overseas patients to complete pre-travel preparation entirely online; and Value-Driven Outcomes (VDO) expansion, enabling deeper measurement of treatment success, cost efficiency, and patient-reported outcomes under the IHH Healthcare framework.
These investments will enhance visibility, improve coordination, and support higher patient volumes.
Q: Medical tourism often faces challenges around cross-border medical records, insurance processes, and continuity of care. How is Island Hospital leveraging technology to address these gaps and make the international patient journey more seamless and reliable?
A: We recognise that international patients face unique challenges, especially when navigating different healthcare systems.
To address these issues, Island Hospital has built a digitally enabled ecosystem that ensures smooth, reliable, and safe cross-border care. It features streamlined insurance and financial processes, stronger continuity of care, better coordination through digital patient navigation, and real-time support during hospital visits.
We have set up digital insurance pre-authorisation systems that reduce manual paperwork and speed up approval times for international patients. Integrated billing and claims management allows patients and insurance partners to track charges and claims status more transparently. There is also the e-deposit refund system that allows patients to track the status of their deposit refund online, making the post-discharge financial process faster, clearer, and more convenient.
We offer teleconsultation services for post-treatment follow-up, medication review, or specialist advice, so patients can avoid unnecessary travel. We deliver WhatsApp reminders for follow-up appointments and monitoring timelines. The digital NPS surveys also help us assess patient recovery and identify any concerns early.
Our virtual concierge systems support visa letters, travel arrangements, and admission preparation. We enable the online submission of medical history and imaging, so our specialists can make pre-arrival assessments and treatment plans.
Moreover, we put up in-hospital digital navigation and queue tracking to minimise confusion and waiting stress for international patients unfamiliar with the environment.
