KPJ Johor Specialist Hospital clinches two major awards in Healthcare Asia Awards

It won Marketing Initiative of the Year - Malaysia and Patient Safety Initiative of the Year - Malaysia.

When KPJ Johor Specialist Hospital (KPJ Johor) first opened in 1981, it became the first private hospital in Johor under Malaysia’s largest network of private healthcare providers, the KPJ Healthcare Berhad Group of Hospitals.

With over 40 years in the industry, it has since grown to have multiple collaborative Centres of Excellence having facilities that are equipped with the latest systems and technologies.

This year, KPJ Johor was given two awards in the recently concluded Healthcare Asia Awards: Marketing Initiative of the Year – Malaysia for its Cardiac Care Services Centre of Excellence, and Patient Safety Initiative of the Year – Malaysia for its focus on geriatric patients with gait difficulty.

With its theme of Recognising Trailblazing Initiatives in the Healthcare Sector, the awards programme aims to honour hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare providers that have risen above the challenges and made a remarkable impact on their patients, most especially amidst the massive disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In developing its Cardiac Care Services as a Centre of Excellence, KPJ Johor installed a GE Revolution CT-Scan that can conduct cardiac procedures.

Cardiac stress perfusion is a revolutionary method of assessing heart tissue viability for planning cardiac revascularisation strategies such as cardiac bypass and angioplasty.

Led by a radiologist and nuclear medicine physician together with the support of GE Asia, the experienced team provides cutting-edge technology and services to the region.

In addition, it collaborates with local and foreign travel agencies and hotels to promote the services and facilities available in KPJ Johor.

With the opening of a representative office in Batam, Indonesia and through a collaboration with an Indonesia ferry operator, KPJ Johor could supply continuous medication to Indonesia patients without the need to travel.

For this project, KPJ Johor was recognised for three achievements. First, the hospital’s cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Syed Adeed performed pectus repair successfully, being one of the four cardiac surgeons in Malaysia with the skills to perform this type of surgery.

Next, the number of patients receiving treatment in our Cath-Lab increased by 4% in 2022. Lastly, revenue from Cath-Lab activities has increased to 16% in 2022, or for a total of RM13,786,722, due to the support of the dedicated team and technology.

Meanwhile, for its second award, KPJ Johor’s physiotherapists brainstormed for possible foot support that can align normal step length and width due to decreased stability in the opposite limb and gait speed.

Geriatric patient-related illness has been tested using shoeCOeyes. The results show that patients can understand the instructions better, the patient’s leg is in the right position, and it is easy for them to walk faster and more confidently.

The team found possible indications to assist patients during the gait cycle through intensive research. The attached laser on their shoes gives patients a clear indication of where to step next by using bright laser colour to assist their forward footing pattern.

The component to support the ankle joint was adopted from the Foot Drop Splint, a possible tool for controlling the lower limb during gait exercise. The splint is worn on the lower part of the leg to help control and support the ankle and foot in an upright position to improve walking.

To monitor the proper gait patterns, the team decided to use a movement sensor system approach, a complete and up-to-date information display monitor to view information on patients’ actual walking progress.

The movement sensor can precisely measure the parameters and assess the gait patterns during the stance and swing phases and can be viewed via its display monitor. Hence, abnormal gait patterns can be detected immediately.

Amongst its many achievements include increasing the total number of gait assessment procedures by 16% and receiving the Par Excellence Award at the International Quality Control Circle in Hyderabad.