Long-term collaboration will focus on clinical research, education, medical simulation, digital health and AI across Malaysia and Singapore
Prof. Dato’ Dr Hanafiah Harunarashid, Chief Medical Director of KPJ Healthcare Berhad (second from left), together with Dr Nik Fawaz Nik Abdul Aziz, Chief Operating Officer for Group Allied & Retail Health Operations, KPJ Healthcare Berhad (left), exchanging the Memorandum of Understanding with Prof. London Lucien Ooi, Group Director of International Collaborations and Director, SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute and Senior Consultant, Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary/Transplant Surgery at Singapore General Hospital and the National Cancer Centre Singapore (second from right) and Vijaya Rao, Director of the International Collaboration Office at SingHealth (right).
KPJ Healthcare Berhad (“KPJ Healthcare”) marked the commencement of a strategic partnership with SingHealth, Singapore’s largest and leading healthcare cluster, through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”), establishing a long-term framework for collaboration in healthcare innovation, clinical research, education and medical simulation.
The partnership brings together KPJ Healthcare’s nationwide network of specialist hospitals and Malaysia’s first private Academic Health System, the KPJ Health System (“KPJHS”). Home to an integrated network of acute hospitals, community hospitals, national specialty centres and polyclinics delivering care across more than 40 clinical and surgical specialties, SingHealth is one of Asia’s most respected academic healthcare clusters. Built on complementary strengths and a shared commitment to clinical excellence, both organisations will work together to develop healthcare talent, advance research and innovation, strengthen specialist capabilities and promote the exchange of knowledge and best practices.
Speaking at the ceremony, Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim, Chairman of KPJHS Governing Council and President and Chief Executive of Johor Corporation (“JCorp”) said, “Healthcare’s biggest challenges cannot be solved by any one institution alone. This partnership reflects our shared commitment to learning from one another, developing future healthcare talent together and advancing innovation that ultimately improves patient care. Partnerships are not defined by the documents we sign. They are defined by the future we choose to build together.”
Prof. London Lucien Ooi, Group Director of International Collaborations and Director, SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute and Senior Consultant, Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary/Transplant Surgery at Singapore General Hospital and the National Cancer Centre Singapore, said, “The signing of this MoU reflects a shared commitment to advancing healthcare innovation, clinical research, education and medical simulation for our communities. It establishes a framework for collaboration across several areas of mutual interest, including healthcare innovation, simulation, education and research.”
The MoU establishes a long-term framework for collaboration across these strategic areas: Clinical Education and Workforce Development, Research and Innovation, Clinical Collaboration, Digital Health & AI and Knowledge Exchange. Together, these areas will support the exchange of expertise, strengthen specialist capabilities, promote multidisciplinary collaboration and create new opportunities for innovation that benefit patients and healthcare professionals.
Initial areas of collaboration include fellowships, specialist attachments and academic exchanges, alongside collaborative research, scientific publications, conferences, healthcare leadership development, medical simulation and the co-management of complex clinical cases.
For KPJ Healthcare, the collaboration supports the continued advancement of the KPJ Health System by accelerating the integration of Practice, Education, Research and Innovation through strategic international partnership. This will be enabled through the Future Health Institute (“FHI”), the strategic platform for integrating these pillars and facilitating collaboration with leading academic and clinical partners worldwide.
The MoU document exchange ceremony was held at Johor Specialist Hospital. Professor Dato’ Dr. Hanafiah Harunarashid, Chief Medical Director of KPJ Healthcare, exchanged the MoU on behalf of KPJ Healthcare with Prof. London Lucien Ooi on behalf of SingHealth. The exchange was witnessed by Dr. Nik Fawaz Nik Abdul Aziz, Chief Operating Officer for Group Allied & Retail Health Operations, KPJ Healthcare and Ms. Vijaya Rao, Director of the International Collaboration Office at SingHealth.