A Malaysian Hospital and Japanese Patients
Posted on May 4th, 2015
Sime Darby is the largest private conglomerate in Malaysia. They have 100 thousand employees and run businesses in a variety of fields including as agriculture, property, and energy Some years ago, Sime Darby merged with an Indonesian company, Ramsay, and extended its business to the medical sector. Currently, they own five hospitals throughout the counatry, and contribute to the development of medical tourism in Malaysia.
Among their facilities, Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) is the largest, comprising 3 buildings, with 1,600 employees and 200 doctors. A fourth building is scheduled to be complete in March, which will house a new wellness centre there. SJMC accepts 300 Japanese patients per month, and one Japanese staff and one Malaysian translator support them. They aim to offer high quality service for Japanese patients. For instance, at the treatment of preventive injection, they principally adopt advance reservation system not to wait time-strict Japanese patients, and serve free drink and even lunch box with the staffs’ smiles.
Japanese people seem to agree that one of the main differences between Malaysian and Japanese hospitals is that Malaysian hospitals look like hotels. There aren't many handrails on the walls like there are in Japanese hospitals. In Malaysian hospitals, the interior design is more luxurious with a lounge that allows for payment for services. In addition, the employment system differs in that Malaysian hospitals employ general practitioners, whereas Japanese hospitals employ doctors who work specifically for the hospital. Although their strategy might be different from Japanese hospitals to a certain extent, there is no doubt that the unique style of Malaysian hospitals is reassuring to Japanese residents in Malaysia.
