Sunway Medical Centre, Sunway City secures two honours at Healthcare Asia Awards

The hospital was recognised for clinical and operational excellence whilst strengthening digital hospital operations.

Sunway Medical Centre, Sunway City (SMC) received the Hospital of the Year - Malaysia and Smart Hospital Initiative of the Year - Malaysia at the Healthcare Asia Awards 2026. The recognition reflects the hospital’s developments in clinical services, robotics integration, automation systems, and diagnostic technologies.

Expanding clinical capacity and specialised care

SMC operates a private quaternary hospital with 848 licensed beds, more than 80 medical specialities, and 28 Centres of Excellence supporting services ranging from transplant medicine to oncology and minimally invasive surgery. The hospital employs more than 3,800 healthcare and hospitality professionals and provides services to local and international patients.

Robotic surgery expanded across several disciplines as part of the hospital’s clinical development. Procedures recorded a 37.3% increase from 2024 to 2025 following the integration of multiple robotic surgical platforms. These systems include the AiBLE™ Spine Surgical Suite, da Vinci Si and da Vinci Xi Surgical Systems that enable complex minimally invasive procedures, two units of Mako SmartRobotics™, the ROSA® Knee System, and the VELYS™ Robotic-Assisted Solution for greater precision, faster recovery, and improved patient outcomes.

More than 4,000 robot-assisted surgeries were completed by 2025 at the Robotic Surgery and Minimally Invasive Surgery Centre. Over 2,000 robotic-assisted hip and knee replacement surgeries were also performed, the highest in Malaysia. The AiBLE™ Spine Surgical Suite, meanwhile, reached 100 cases in 2025.

SMC is also the first private hospital in Malaysia with two digital PET/CT units for faster, safer, and more accurate cancer detection. Between 2024 and 2025, it launched Malaysia’s first photon-counting CT scanner, which produces higher resolution imaging for cardiology, oncology, neurology, and paediatric cases whilst reducing radiation exposure. The hospital also introduced Genomic Medicine Services that include whole genome sequencing, hereditary cancer risk panels, and rare disease diagnostics. It also performed Bronchoscopic Thermal Vapor Ablation in a private hospital setting in Malaysia and operates the country’s first dedicated Children’s Emergency Department with a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit in a private hospital.

Digital infrastructure, meanwhile, supports hospital operations through automation and data-driven systems. SMC installed Malaysia’s first microbiology automated specimen processing system, the Walk Away Specimen Processor (WASP), which processes culture and sensitivity samples that form a large share of the daily laboratory workload. The hospital also implemented the GLP Systems Track laboratory automation solution that integrates sample transport with laboratory testing workflows.

Clinical workflow systems include Computerised Physician Order Entry (CPOE), which provides digital order management and drug allergy checks for clinicians and pharmacists. The hospital also introduced the Outpatient Pharmacy Automation System (OPAS), a robotic dispensing platform linking seven outpatient pharmacies through robots, spirals, and an elevator system for medication distribution across multiple floors.

Looking ahead, SMC is also adopting additional clinical advancements to strengthen its capabilities and keep pace with evolving healthcare demands.

Amongst these innovations are the MIM Maestro and MIM Contour Protégé for greater precision in cancer treatment; rehabilitation technologies such as Lokomat Pro V5®, EksoNR, Fourier M2, and ARMATUS, supporting effective recovery; next-generation radiology systems including 3 Tesla (3T) MRI, United Imaging uMI® 780 Digital PET/CT Scanner, Siemens SOMATOM Force CT scanner, Siemens NAEOTOM Alpha® with Quantum Technology CT scanner, and Siemens Biograph Vision 600 Digital PET/CT Scanner; and advanced cancer technologies such as  Zeiss INTRABEAM Intraoperative Radiation Therapy (IORT), Elekta Leksell Gamma Knife® ICON™, Varian TrueBeam™ STx, Elekta Flexitron® Brachytherapy, and Accuray Radixact X9 Tomotherapy®.

Community engagement programmes remain part of hospital operations. In 2025, SMC conducted more than 30 outreach initiatives, including health screenings and public health activities, reaching over 8,000 participants. The hospital also hosted 66 hybrid medical symposiums attended by more than 14,000 healthcare professionals.

Healthcare Asia Awards is an awards programme focused on acknowledging exceptional hospitals across Asia that redefine the standards of excellence in the healthcare industry. It proudly shines a spotlight on Asian hospitals that consistently go beyond conventional boundaries to provide top-tier patient care and have a lasting impact on their local communities.

The Healthcare Asia Awards is presented by Healthcare Asia Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2027 awards programme and be acclaimed for your organisation's remarkable initiatives and contributions to the healthcare industry, please contact Julie Anne Nuñez-Difuntorum at [email protected].