Opening Address at Singapore Healthcare Management Congress 2022
Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng, Sands Expo and Convention Centre
Mr Cheng Wai Keung, SingHealth Chairman
Professor Ivy Ng, SingHealth Group CEO
Mr Tan Jack Thian, Organising Chairman,
Singapore Healthcare Management Congress 2022
Distinguished speakers
Delegates
Colleagues and friends
1. A very good morning to all of you. I am very happy to join you this morning at the Singapore Healthcare Management Congress 2022. For the first time in three years, healthcare professionals and industry experts from Singapore and all over the world can finally gather in person to share insights and ideas on healthcare management, supply chain management and enterprise risk management. I am indeed delighted and heartened to see such a big turnout this morning.
2. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed the tireless efforts and dedication of healthcare workers at the frontline and the sacrifices that they have made to keep patients and the community safe. What is perhaps less visible, but no less important, is the steadfast support of the healthcare operations and administrative teams. They, too, have played an important and pivotal role in keeping the healthcare system robust. By introducing new innovations and improving work processes, as well as forming partnerships beyond their organisations to create a robust talent pipeline, they have enabled us to stay ahead of the curve in managing this pandemic.
LEVERAGING COLLABORATIONS TO HARNESS TALENT
3. The efforts of our healthcare professionals which have been brought into the spotlight by this pandemic are equally vital during peacetime. Like in many parts of the world, Singapore has a rapidly ageing population, an increasing burden of disease, as well as a shrinking workforce. In our increasingly complex and hyper-connected world, finding solutions to the many challenges requires collaborations across different talent groups and fields of expertise. This is particularly so in the healthcare sector. As compared to a couple of decades ago, the practice of medicine has become significantly more sophisticated, due to the synergies that have been forged with fields such as engineering, computing, biology and design.
4. This crisis has been a catalyst for technology adoption. How can the healthcare sector seize the opportunity and harness technology to make a paradigm shift in how healthcare can be delivered?
5. First, we need to focus on our people and constantly upgrade our manpower with the relevant new skills and knowledge. In June this year, SingHealth signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National University of Singapore’s College of Design & Engineering to develop an education framework for current and aspiring Biomedical Engineers – and specifically, to enhance proficiency in the area of the Internet of Medical Things or IoMT. I am very glad that SingHealth is looking to the future, and actively developing a pipeline of Biomedical engineers who can work hand in hand with our healthcare professionals. If we can develop a robust IoMT ecosystem, and harness all the big data generated from health monitoring wearables and sensors, it will be a significant advancement in the shift from reactive to proactive, and even pre-emptive, healthcare.
OPTIMISING HUMAN RESOURCE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PROCESS INNOVATION
6. Second, we need to optimize the precious and scarce manpower that we have through job redesign and process innovation. In the healthcare setting, particularly, technology can never replace the human touch. Therefore, we need to constantly find ways to “right-site” our finite human resource so that healthcare professionals can focus on direct patient care and other higher-value added clinical tasks.
7. We can free up healthcare professionals from having to perform rote tasks by automating operational workflows. For instance, a team comprising members from the Finance, Business Office, Patient Financial Services, Nursing and Allied Health domains from across SingHealth institutions came together to redesign the inpatient ward setting process. They introduced a cluster-wide electronic charge interface for nurses and allied health professionals to document ward procedures and place procedure and treatment orders. With the interface, nurses no longer have to fill in hard copy charge forms which a clerk then has to enter into the finance system. Apart from more accurate and timely billings, this project is also estimated to have saved more than 1700 hours per month for all nursing and administrative staff involved in the process. Since December 2021, this process improvement has been progressively rolled out to all SingHealth institutions, and the team is planning to expand the interface to include procedures performed by doctors in the wards by the end of next year.
8. In another example, administrators in the SingHealth Office for Service Transformation collaborated with multiple technology agencies and worked with SGH clinicians to re-design their pre-surgery anaesthesia assessment workflow for patients. They designed an IT system that screens and categorises patients who are being admitted into the hospital for planned surgery into “high risk” and “low risk” groups. Patients in the “high risk” group are required to have a face-to-face consultation with an anaesthesiologist before their surgery, while nurses follow up with those in the “low risk” group through a telephone screening. From August 2021 to June 2022, the number of anaesthesiologist consultations have been reduced by almost 2,000, which is equivalent to savings of about 1,410 man-hours (or more than 58 days). Anaesthesiologists can now devote more time to pre-surgery counselling to ensure health optimisation of high-risk patients, and patients can also save time at the pre-surgery assessment.
ACTIVATING NEW WAYS OF ENGAGING AND EMPOWERING PATIENTS FOR BETTER PATIENT OUTCOMES
9. Third, for a healthcare system to be robust and sustainable, all stakeholders – including clinicians, administrators, and patients – must participate actively and take ownership. From the COVID experience, we have seen how people can take more control of their own healthcare when they are empowered by information and technology. Hence, there is tremendous potential in using technology to improve efficiency, lower information asymmetry, lower manpower and healthcare costs and therefore enabling better health outcomes for patients.
10. The Health Buddy app, launched in 2011 as a collaboration between SingHealth and the Integrated Health Information Systems (IHiS), is an example of this. The app has evolved over the years from just an appointment management function to a comprehensive health mobile companion, enabling convenient access to a suite of healthcare e-services and information.
11. One exciting new feature is the Health Champ function that enables users to regularly track, trend and share health vital readings such as blood pressure and blood glucose levels with their family members and healthcare teams. Traditionally, patients track these readings manually with pen and paper. However, doctors and nurses may have to take some time to look through the results for trends. With Health Champ, patients can now download the reports – presented by trends or averages – to share with their healthcare teams, who are then able to make a faster and more accurate and precise review, resulting in improved efficiency in the clinics. Patients are also more empowered to take charge of their own health as Health Champ pushes out related health advisories based on patients’ readings, which provide immediate and actionable advice to help with their condition.
CLOSING
12. In conclusion, I would like to express once again my deep appreciation to all of our healthcare professionals for your steadfast dedication and for your commitment in caring for our patients all through the pandemic, and for continuing to push the boundaries of care for the future. The healthcare community is made up of a diverse network of talents, each contributing his or her knowledge, skills and experiences towards the shared goal of bettering the patient experience. And every improvement in healthcare management, administration or operations, no matter how small that step is, brings about greater convenience, ease of access to care, and invariably, time and cost savings to the patients and to the healthcare system.
13. Thank you once again for listening to me and I wish everyone a very productive, engaging and fruitful two days of learning and sharing.