PETALING JAYA: IHH Healthcare Malaysia, a unit of IHH Healthcare Bhd
, says it is set to transition to a value-based healthcare, in line with the recent call by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
The call given by Dzulkefly is to shift from a “pay-for-service” to a “pay-for-outcomes” model to improve health outcomes and curb the medical inflation rate from uncontrolled procedure costs.
“In an era where healthcare costs are rising due to an ageing population, the prevalence of chronic diseases and the use of advanced technologies that offer better outcomes yet tied to higher costs, we are committed to providing value-driven care that is patient-centric, cost-efficient and enhances patient health,” said IHH Healthcare Malaysia chief executive officer Jean-Francois Naa in a statement.
IHH Healthcare Malaysia said it has been at the forefront of evidence-based healthcare through its value-driven outcomes (VDO) initiative since 2019.
VDO tracks the patient journey to measure, identify gaps and improve clinical process efficiency, leading to better outcomes, it said.
Currently, IHH Healthcare Malaysia said its VDO initiatives cover around 15% of its procedures such as colonoscopy, coronary angioplasty, total knee replacement, anterior cruciate ligament surgery and hysterectomy.
“The goal is to expand this coverage to 50% in the near future. Clinical practices are benchmarked against global standards, enabling data-driven decision-making,” IHH Malaysia said.
“To ensure optimal outcomes from our VDO initiatives, we establish performance metrics for each procedure, including adherence to clinical guidelines, to improve quality of patient recovery and patient recovery time,” Jean-François Naa said.
The company noted that meticulous implementation of evidence-based practices and advanced data analytics has led to significant achievements, even surpassing international standards.
For instance, it said for IHH Healthcare Malaysia, colonoscopy procedures have achieved an overall polyp detection rate of 50%, with an adenoma detection rate of 27%.
“This exceeds international benchmarks, which stand at 40% for overall polyp detection and 25% for adenoma detection,” it noted.
Meanwhile, in Patient Reported Outcomes Measures surveys such as knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score-12 conducted before and after TKR surgeries show significant improvements in areas that matter most to patients, it said.
These indicators include pain relief, better physical function and enhanced quality of life, it added.
It said patient scores after surgery at three months improved by 41 points, and at six months by 52 points, which is beyond the international standards of Minimal Clinical Importance Difference of 11.1 points.
“With the positive results of our VDO initiatives and the maturity of our data, we are now ready to explore the feasibility of outcome-based payment models.
“This shift not only aligns with the Health Minister’s directive but also reinforces our commitment to delivering high-quality, patient-centred care,” Jean-Francois Naa said.
