Keeping forces fighting fit in digital age

LUMUT: Defence technology specialist Mindmatics Sdn Bhd is spearheading the digital transformation of the armed forces' Health Services Division through the implementation of Phase 2 of the Centralised Medical Repository System (Centromeres).

The initiative includes the rollout of the MyZULU Health mobile application.

The application was launched by Armed Forces chief General Tan Sri Malek Razak Sulaiman at the Lumut Naval Base on Saturday, coinciding with the 93rd Armed Forces Day celebration. Present was Armed Forces Health Services director-general Lieutenant-General Datuk Dr Zulkeffeli Mat Jusoh also present.

Mindmatics senior project manager Azman Ahmad said the application allowed military personnel to manage medical appointments, track vital health indicators — such as blood pressure and blood sugar levels — complete digital health forms and questionnaires before visits and manage their personal profiles from their mobile devices.

The application can be downloaded from Google Play and the App Store.

Azman said Mindmatics was also deploying its comprehensive Health Information System (HIS) through Centromeres across all five military hospitals nationwide.

The two-year initiative covers
Tuanku Mizan Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, the 94 Armed Forces Hospital in Terendak, Melaka, the 96 Armed Forces Hospital in Lumut, Perak, the Regional Armed Forces Hospital in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, and the Army Hospital in Negri Sembilan.

Centromeres serves as the armed forces' core electronic health network.

Phase 1 established the Military Lifetime Health Record (MLHR) across 116 sites, while Phase 2 deploys HIS nationwide across armed forces hospitals and integrates it with MyZULU Health.

"HIS is also supported by dedicated software-defined wide area network infrastructure, with real-time information fed to dashboards linked directly to national databases, including the Health Ministry's patient treatment and registration system, MyHDW/SMRP and the armed forces' Human Resource Management Information System.

"Meanwhile, the MLHR system is hosted at Puspadu (Integrated Data Centre) and accessible from 116 health unit sites through the armed forces' network infrastructure."

Azman said the deployment of
the HIS package across the five military hospitals was aligned with
the Armed Forces Health Services Transformation Plan 2017-2050.

The project replaces paper-based workflows with an end-to-end digital system integrating electronic medical records, computerised physician order entry, laboratory information systems, pharmacy information systems, radiology/PACS and automated medical supply-chain logistics.

"To ensure enterprise-grade reliability and strict patient privacy, the HIS undergoes a stringent security posture assessment, including full penetration testing in line with industry-recognised frameworks." By Fuad Nizam