KPJ Healthcare has launched the inaugural Heart & Lung Centre of Excellence (CoE) at Johor Specialist Hospital (JSH) in Malaysia, as part of its move towards becoming an integrated academic health system.

Launched under the KPJ Health System (KPJHS), the Heart & Lung CoE will serve as a model for unified service across the KPJ network via data-driven improvements, standardised clinical pathways, and multidisciplinary reviews.

Introduced in 2024, KPJHS combines care delivery, education through KPJ Healthcare University (KPJU) and research and innovation.

The initiative seeks to reinforce clinical governance and deliver a uniform standard of patient care throughout the group.

KPJ Healthcare has also entered a consulting arrangement with Mayo Clinic Global Consulting to focus on patient experience, clinical standards, education frameworks and research, supporting the benchmarked CoEs development to international best practices.

The centre will implement a unified clinical approach, enabling multidisciplinary case reviews, system-wide pathways and shared expertise to support evidence-informed care.

It will also prioritise building workforce capabilities in partnership with KPJU by conducting case reviews, increasing simulation-based training, and providing clinical attachments to prepare healthcare professionals for future demands.

Digital and data-driven processes will be integrated into workflows to maintain consistency and support decision-making in care delivery.

Ongoing initiatives at JSH aim to improve service line outcomes and strengthen accountability.

Johor Corporation president and CEO, KPJU chairman and KPJHS Project Steering Committee chairman Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim said: “This CoE reflects a simple mandate: one system, one standard, better outcomes.

“KPJHS is how we move from good intentions to measurable results where patients receive safer care, faster access and a consistently better experience across our hospitals.”

The Heart & Lung CoE at JSH is the initial facility in a series of 15 centres planned to be established by 2030.