As Malaysia seeks to establish itself as a fully developed nation in the very near future, it is important for the nation’s pillar infrastructures to be technologically sophisticated to the level that the nation is confident to be self-sufficient from a technological standpoint – being able to develop, manufacture and distribute new inventions needed to overcome specific challenges of the future so that the country can remain economically and socially resilient during times of crisis. This was especially true during the twin crises of the recent global COVI-19 pandemic, where nations with the necessary resources and technological know-how could overcome the outbreak and its effects on national productivity, and recover the quickest – saving lives and livelihoods simultaneously.

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The digital transformation of the national healthcare sector therefore must not be steered primarily by market forces alone, with the risk of novelty traps that can prevent the development and dissemination of technologies that could signficantly improve social welfare. There is a great need to encourage all stakeholders, businesses, developers and the general public to adopt a common understanding that the transition to a digitally enhanced healthcare services from the traditional practice of service provision must capitalise on the value adding advantages of digital technologies and novel biomedical discoveries to solve current problems in the delivery of equitable, accessible and affordable quality healthcare services for everyone.

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In this series of policy briefs, the Strategic Communications and Digital Health Committee, seeks to introduce and argue different perspectives of Digital Health and its implementation in the Malaysian Context.

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These papers are available for open Access on our Website. We hope to publish an annual collection of the papers once a year.