KUCHING: HMI Medical has pledged to keep treatment at its upcoming Regency Specialist Hospital Kuching accessible despite plans to establish it as an advanced tertiary healthcare facility.
HMI Malaysia chief executive officer Stanley Lam said affordability had consistently shaped the group’s pricing, investment and medical technology decisions.
“Over the years, we have emphasised patient volume so that we can lower the unit cost of care and price our services effectively,” he said during an interview at Sheraton Kuching here on Tuesday (Aug 11).
Lam said HMI’s existing tertiary hospitals continued to maintain strategic partnerships with major insurers, reflecting the group’s efforts to control treatment costs.
He cited the group’s selection of a robotic surgical system as an example, saying it had declined a more expensive option after considering the resulting cost to patients.
HMI eventually selected the Hinotori robotic surgical system following consultations with the doctors who would use it and an assessment of its ability to support care at a lower entry cost.
“It was not that we could not afford the other system, but our patients might not be able to afford it,” he said.
HMI Medical executive director and group chief executive officer Chin Wei Jia said accessibility had remained central to the group since it entered Malaysia during the Asian financial crisis.
She said every technology decision was assessed against whether patients could reasonably access the resulting treatment.
“If the price point or required top-up is too high, we know that more people will not be able to access that care, so the total bill size is always top of mind for us,” she said.
HMI is investing more than RM400 million in the Kuching hospital, with further reinvestment planned after it begins operations.
Lam said financial sustainability was necessary for the hospital to continuously upgrade its equipment, services and clinical capabilities to meet changing patient needs.
The initial investment would therefore be followed by continued spending on improvements, similar to HMI’s approach at its existing hospitals in Melaka and Johor.
Chin said HMI viewed hospitals as long-term investments and was confident that its Kuching facility would deliver lasting value to the local community.
She added that the group would focus on quality, clinical standards and service excellence while offering Sarawakians another option for specialist care.
