Malaysia shows progress in personalised health index

The Personalised Health Index for Asia-Pacific, with an emphasis on Malaysia, was released recently. The launch follows the recent introduction of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) Personalised Health Index by the FutureProofing Healthcare project, which was led by a panel of 15 leading healthcare experts from across the Asia-Pacific region.

This data-driven policy tool is backed by Roche and is the first of its kind in the country. It assesses the readiness of 11 health systems, including Malaysia’s, to implement personalised healthcare. Personalised healthcare is the way forward for medicine, as it allows the right treatment to be customized to the right individual at the right time.

The index is based on reliable, open-source data that has been augmented with input from public health officials from across Asia Pacific and verified by a panel of independent healthcare experts, including Professor Dr Maude Elvira Phipps, Professor of Human Genetics, Monash University Malaysia’s Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

The FutureProofing Healthcare project seeks to help stakeholders from all parts of the health ecosystem understand local, national, and regional strengths and needs. It also facilitates personalszed, data-driven decision-making and promotes best practice sharing across the country, guiding discussions and interventions to transform health systems and improve their ability to respond to rapid change.

The time is ripe for personalised healthcare
Growing demographics and rising costs are posing challenges to health systems across Asia Pacific, particularly in Malaysia, which have been exacerbated by the rise of noncommunicable diseases and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This is compounded by a lack of regulatory strategies and policies aimed at improving emerging health technologies. By adopting a more personalised approach, the health systems can be improved by helping decision-makers prioritize their efforts and resources, and initiate policies and frameworks that support healthcare innovation.

The Personalised Health Index assesses performance against 27 separate personalised health metrics that are organized into four ‘Vital Signs’ categories. These are: policy context, health information, personalised technologies, and health services.

Although the index shows major regional inequalities among the countries studied, the results show that the transition to individualized healthcare is underway and gaining traction in Malaysia. Lower-scoring regions are impacted by legislation and personalised technology challenges, with many of them still in the early stages of personalised healthcare.

Malaysia is developing and implementing plans to allow personalised healthcare, and it already has a digital infrastructure and data collection capabilities that can support certain aspects of it. Our country’s potential focus areas include increasing investment in research and development, streamlining regulatory procedures, opening access to data for research, enhancing access to digital health services, and building capacity in the healthcare workforce. In addition, as Malaysia transitions to personalised healthcare, a strong focus on health ethics and equity is needed to resolve issues of access and quality. [Available at: Malaysia - Personalised Health Index | FutureProofing Healthcare Accessed on 27 April 2021]]

According to Phipps, personalised healthcare can transform patients’ lives by delivering care tailored to the individual and populations, thereby helping prevent, diagnose and treat patients more effectively and quickly. She said: “It has the potential to improve the lives of millions of people across Asia Pacific. It is clear that better health access, literacy and collaborative partnerships are needed across the region. The index was developed to drive evidence-based decisions in policy and healthcare, and help various countries measure their progress towards more sustainable, personalised, integrated and digital health systems. This index helps to facilitate critical changes in health system design that work better for current and future generations.”

Lance Duan, general manager of Roche (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd expressed the company’s pride in supporting the novel initiative. He said: “FutureProofing Healthcare brings together core elements of Roche’s vision for a better future for healthcare, including innovation in treatment, advances in technology, understanding of human biology and the ability to analyze data to make the promise of personalised healthcare a reality. We are committed to working in partnership with policymakers to leverage the opportunities and address key areas of focus highlighted in the index, to ensure Malaysia continues to develop more resilient and sustainable health systems that work better for the people who need them.”

Further information can be obtained from FutureProofingHealthcare.com.