​Telstra Health secures new hospital contracts in Asia

Telstra Health has further expanded its business in Asia, securing four new contracts with hospitals in Malaysia and Thailand.

The new contracts will see Telstra Health implement its CloudMed Arcus hospital information system at Sunway Medical Centre group, Penang Adventist Hospital group, and Tung Shin Hospital in Malaysia, and Khon Kaen University Hospital in Thailand.

Telstra's Arcus system is an end-to-end single patient medical record system designed for hospital networks with multiple locations. According to Telstra, the system is being used by more than 250 hospitals across Asia.

Telstra retail group executive Gordon Ballantyne said while Australia remains a primary focus for the company, the continued expansion of Telstra Health into Asia marks the company's effort to become a global business.

"Many of the health system pain points in Australia -- such as the need to digitalise and automate complex processes and share information in real time -- are the same for healthcare sectors around the world. It makes sense to capitalise on these global opportunities, especially when businesses we have acquired have a global footprint," he said.

Telstra Health currently has established Asia offices in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and India.

In July, Telstra Health launched ReadyCare, a 24-hour general practitioner telemedicine service to give Australians the option to connect with registered Australian doctors on the phone or via video to receive advice, treatment, diagnosis, and prescriptions.