APRIL, 2018 | The HEALTH current news 05
Faster recovery with robotic assisted surgery
APRIL, 2018 | The HEALTH current news 05
Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah with( on his right) Collaborative Research in Engineering, Science and Technology( CREST) chief executive officer Jaffri Ibrahim and( standing) CREST Internet of Things( IoT) Research and Program director Dr Khoh Soo Beng.
that health diagnostic devices such as stethoscopes, glucometers, blood pressure monitors, weighing scales and smart textiles today can now collect and transmit patients’ health vital signs data, which is uploaded to the internet for further analysis.
“ These devices are designed to be mobile and in portable form, and they sometimes use communication protocols such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and utilise smart devices such as cellular phones as a gateway to the Cloud or Internet,” he said.
Senior citizens are not left in the dark either.
According to Hisham, the
by NURUL AIN HUDA ABDULLAH ainhuda @ revonmedia. com
Tati Skin Care Therapy Cream 1.
Institute for Health Behavioural Research conducted a study on 23 activity centres for older persons known as Pusat Aktiviti Warga Emas( PAWE) localities which revealed that the majority of senior citizens use the internet to obtain health information from professional sources and health staff. This was proven when the study showed that 83.4 per cent of the respondents ranked health staff as people they trusted the most.
A closer look into the current digital healthcare landscape in Malaysia
Speaking of information tools to achieve better health outcomes, he said that these consist of MyTOF- HLA that measures the general population health literacy developed by the Institute for Health Behavioural Research.
“ Several other incarnations were developed and used by other research in MoH. These include the Health Quality of Life( HQoL) measurements tool by the Institute for Health Systems Research and various health assessment tools developed by the Clinical Research Centre. Measurements of the burden of disease are annually gathered by the Institute for Public Health through the National Health and Morbidity Survey( NHMS) covering various aspects and domains giving an overarching
Ministry of Health discontinues three cosmetics with scheduled poison
THE Ministry of Health Malaysia, National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency( NPRA) recently announced that one product manufactured by One World Cosmetics while two other products by HDY Aylia Resources had been discontinued as they contained scheduled poison. The announcement was made by the Health Ministry’ s director general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah on his blogpost pertaining to‘ GG Pinky Day Cream for Skin’ and‘ Tati Therapy Cream 1’ which was said to have mercury while‘ Tati Therapy Cream 2’ was said to contain hydroquinone and tretinoin.
Hisham pointed out that hydroquinone and tretinoin are pharmaceutical products registered under the Drug Control Authority and can be only used with healthcare supervision.
Cosmetic products mixed with hydroquinone may cause redness, discomfort, skin color changes while causing skin to be hypersensitive. It can prevent the process of depigmentation which reduces skin protection from harmful UV light emissions that increases the risk of skin cancer.
Meanwhile, cosmetic products mixed with tretinoin are usually promoted for the purpose of treating acne problems and aiding wrinkle reduction. The use of tretinoin can cause skin redness, pain, peeling and hypersensitivity to sunlight.
Products mixed with mercury can be harmful to health as it may cause damage to the kidneys and nervous system when absorbed into the body. It can also interfere with the development of the brain of a young or unborn child. view of the population’ s health.”
“ We even have tools for measuring nutritional intake by the Nutrition Divisions; and many others. All you need is to get in touch with the respective divisions and institutes,” he said.
He further pointed out that his ministry had also been enhancing outreach to digital health since the last two decades— by strengthening the technology infrastructure— to allow clinics and hospitals connected through its own virtual private network.
“ This facilitates effective information and data dissemination, be it from the central to the periphery locations or vice-versa for national health planning and management.”
“ Additionally, a number of our clinics and hospitals are equipped with Electronic Medical Records systems and through the Malaysia Health Information Exchange( MyHIX), authorised doctors can share patients’ health records for continuity of care and referral purposes,” he said.
In addition to this, Hisham indicated that his ministry had recently launched the Enhanced Primary Healthcare( EnPHC) pilot programme in 20 MOH health clinics— focusing on managing chronic illness and NCD’ s at primary health care level through a systematic approach of prevention, early detection and continuous treatment.
Faster recovery with robotic assisted surgery
PATIENTS will now be able to enjoy minimal scarring and reduced blood loss and transfusions through robotic assisted surgery.
“ Although the operating time itself remains the same, procedures carried out with the Da Vinci Si Surgical System has smaller incisions, resulting in reduced risk of infection upon other benefits such as shorter hospitalisation period, reduced pain and discomfort and faster recovery time compared to the traditional open surgery,” said UiTM Private Specialist Centre consultant, General, Breast and Endocrine surgeon Dr Yahya Mohd Aripin.
Speaking to The HEALTH, he explained that thus far a total of eight surgery – thyroid, prostatectomy, hernia and a cardiothoracic procedure had been carried out successfully since the specialist centre first obtained the system in 2016.
“ Compared to traditional open surgery, the system offers surgeons a three-dimensional, high definition vision with up to 10 times magnification of the operative field. This is far superior to any other surgical approach, including traditional open surgery and laparoscopy,” he said.
Dr Yahya added that the EndoWrist instruments are also designed to provide surgeons with natural dexterity and a range of motion of up to 360 degrees which makes a surgery more precise.
( Second from left) is Dr Shamsudin Mohamed Rela, while( first from left) is Parkway Pantai Malaysia Operation Division chief executive officer Joe Sim and Dato Dr Mahendra Raj with the rest during the press conference.
Pantai- Gleneagles merge for healthier liver
THE liver is the biggest organ in the human anatomy yet liver related diseases does not carry the same popularity as other chronic diseases.
Blame it on lack of awareness among the public or the innumerable myths commonly attached with organ donations, these scenario causes patients suffering from chronic liver diseases at the hospitals to have no option but to rely on medicines that could only prolong but not cure the illness.
Understanding these struggle, Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur has teamed up with its sister hospital in India, Gleneagles Global Health City Chennai to provide a comprehensive management on liver diseases including liver transplantation.
The collaboration is set to establish living donor transplant programme thus easing the burden of Malaysians who are struggling to find the solution to liver diseases.
Through our collaboration with Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur, we are able to help more patients suffering from severe ailments by providing them with the best treatment option at an affordable cost,” said Gleneagles Global Hospitals Liver Disease and Transplant Programme, director Professor Dr Shamsudin Mohamed Rela.
Patients will be screened and evaluated by a team of liver specialist that will be done by Pantai Hospital before being sent to Chennai for further evaluation and formulation of treatment plan.
However, according to Professor Rela, the general idea is not for patients in Malaysia to travel all the way to India for a transplant instead the long term goal is to be able to conduct a transplant here.
“ We will help the doctors in Malaysia to manage 20 to 40 patients within the first three years and look after them.”
“ Our next step is to set up liver transplant here and we will supervise the operation up to the point of being able to stand independently,” he added.