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Dr Mahesh Appannan
Ministry Of Health, Malaysia, Director, Digital Health Division
Speaker Bio
Dr. Maheshwara Rao Appannan currently serves as the Director of the Digital Health Division at the Ministry of Health Malaysia, where he leads nationwide efforts to modernize and transform healthcare delivery. With over 19 years of experience spanning public health, big data analytics, and digital innovation, he is a key architect of Malaysia’s digital health transformation.
He holds a Doctorate in Public Health (DrPH) and a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Malaya, alongside certifications in Public Health Emergency Management from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Leadership in Medicine (LIM-SEA) program at Harvard Medical School.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Appannan led Malaysia’s national data strategy, co-developing the MySejahtera platform, widely recognized as one of the most comprehensive digital public health tools globally. He also advanced a culture of transparency by publishing national COVID-19 datasets on GitHub and launching the COVIDNow portal, setting new benchmarks for open health data in the region.
Beyond the pandemic, he has driven major system-wide reforms, including the rapid, large-scale deployment of electronic medical records across primary care facilities, delivered at speed and cost-efficiency. This resulted in a fourfold increase in digital clinics within two years and enabled over 12 million individuals in Malaysia to access their health records at their fingertips. This achievement catalyzed further national investment and established a scalable model for digitalizing
healthcare services. His leadership continues to expand the digitalization of core services, including organ donation pledges, appointment scheduling, disease management plans, and national screening programs.
In 2024, he led the nationwide implementation of the International Patient Summary, positioning Malaysia among early adopters of cross-border health information exchange. He currently serves on the World Health Organization Strategic Advisory Group for the Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN), reinforcing Malaysia’s leadership in interoperability and global health security.
In 2025, Dr. Appannan became one of the first Asians to receive the prestigious HIMSS Changemaker Award and was also honoured with the SEACare Digital Health Innovation Award. A frequent speaker at international forums, he represents Malaysia on global platforms addressing digital health transformation, cybersecurity, and health data governance. He also provides expert commentary on digital health and public health data governance, contributing to national and
international discourse in these areas.
He is a strong advocate of Malaysia’s “1 Person, 1 Record” vision, driving the development of a citizen-centric, interoperable health ecosystem that ensures every individual has a unified, lifelong health record enabling better care, improved outcomes, and a truly digital-first healthcare system.
