OPENING SPEECH BY MR GAN KIM YONG, MINISTER FOR HEALTH, AT THE 16TH SINGAPORE HEALTH & BIOMEDICAL CONGRESS 2018, 25 OCTOBER 2018,

Professor Lim Tock Han, Deputy Group CEO, Education & Research, National Healthcare Group

Dr Martin Chio, Chairman, Organising Committee, Singapore Health & Biomedical Congress 2018

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

            Good afternoon. I am pleased to join you today at the 16^th Singapore Health and Biomedical Congress (SHBC). To our friends and speakers from abroad, a very warm welcome to Singapore.

NEED FOR HEALTHCARE TRANSFORMATION

2.           In Singapore, a system-wide transformation of our healthcare system is underway to meet current and future challenges arising from a fast greying population, tightening workforce and growing chronic disease burden. The theme for this year’s Congress, “Back to Basics: Adding Years of Healthy Life”, serves as a timely reminder for us to remain focused on our mission as we take stock of the progress we have made and review what more we can do in our care transformation journey. For instance, we are placing greater emphasis on population health research to better understand underlying drivers of health outcomes so that we can develop more effective interventions, leading to more appropriate and effective care models. 

3.          Our efforts for our healthcare system transformation are centred on three key shifts: Beyond Healthcare to Health, Beyond Hospital to Community, and Beyond Quality to Value. These strategies entail a major push towards preventive, primary and community care, while ensuring that quality healthcare remains accessible, appropriate, affordable and sustainable.

MOVING TOWARDS PREVENTIVE AND PRIMARY CARE

4.                Primary care remains a critical foundation of our healthcare system in view of Singapore’s ageing population and the rising prevalence of chronic conditions. It anchors care in the community, bringing care closer to patients’ homes. The most optimal patient outcomes can only be achieved through strong relationships between the patient and the healthcare team. Strong trust between the patient and care team empowers the individual to take ownership of his health and encourages active participation in care decisions. The National Healthcare Group Polyclinics (NHGP) piloted the Teamlet Care Model for chronic disease management in 2015, which has since been implemented in all its polyclinics. This model of care assigns patients with chronic diseases to specific teamlets comprising family physicians, care managers and care coordinators. With the teamlet model, we observed that patient outcomes are better, preventive health screening are done more regularly, and visits to the doctor and emergency department are reduced.

5.          The teamlet approach of having family physicians work closely with clinical specialists via tele-collaboration has also enabled the right-siting of patient care in the community. Initiatives such as Tele-Electrocardiogram, or tele-ECG, and Tele-Dermatology have reduced the number of referrals to Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s (TTSH) Cardiology Specialist Outpatient Clinic (SOC) and the National Skin Centre (NSC), freeing up capacity for patients with more complex needs requiring physical visits.

6.          To enhance care delivery, NHGP has also introduced several Tele-health initiatives, such as Tele-wound Care which monitors patients and allows them to send images of their wounds to nurses for follow-up over the telephone. Tele-consultations have helped asthma patients receive advice on insulin titration and post-nebulisation follow-ups. These innovative solutions have benefitted patients, especially seniors, saving them time and money on transportation costs by reducing the number of physical visits to the clinics.

7.          MOH is also investing more resources to support our General Practitioner (GP) partners in delivering holistic chronic care, through our Primary Care Networks (PCNs). PCNs are networks of GPs delivering care via multi-disciplinary teams comprising doctors, nurses and primary care coordinators. NHGP leads one of these PCNs – the Central-North PCN – which was established in January this year. As part of the Central-North PCN, some 30 GP clinics work closely with NHGP and NHG institutions to serve residents in the northern and central regions of Singapore. The PCNs are a key initiative in our strategy to deliver healthcare beyond hospitals to the community and we expect more GP clinics to join the scheme in time to come.

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO DELIVER VALUE-BASED QUALITY HEALTHCARE

8.          To keep our healthcare system sustainable and affordable, we need to continue with our drive towards productivity and innovation while ensuring patient safety. MOH has launched the Licensing Experimentation and Adaptation Programme (or LEAP), a regulatory sandbox that enables the safe growth of new modalities that support care transformation such as telemedicine and mobile medicine. The sandbox allows providers to evolve their service models in a safe manner and with better visibility over the eventual regulatory environment. It also allows the Ministry to keep in step with the fast evolving healthcare landscape and work with the providers to co-develop timely, fit-for-purpose and effective regulations.

9.          Innovations can also support better care delivery to patients. NHG, the Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore), our five Polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) will be signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) today to establish the ALIVE–POLY–ITE Student Internship Programme. This Programme allows diploma students, with expertise in the areas of games design/storytelling, graphics design and IT infrastructure, to co-develop serious game prototypes for the healthcare sector. Through ALIVE, healthcare professional teams from NHG and NTU Singapore will provide guidance to student interns to co-develop these serious game prototypes to improve health literacy.

HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS TO EXPLORE INNOVATIONS IN HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH (HSR)

10.      Innovations in Health Services Research (HSR) will increasingly play a pivotal role in the transformation of healthcare delivery and outcomes for patients and our population. HSR will enable a better understanding of the health and social needs of our population. It provides information to decision-makers on the operational and health outcomes of these innovative ideas and generates insights into social and organisational factors that may influence their implementation in clinical settings. For example, a metric such as the Population Health Index (PHI), developed by NHG’s Health Services and Outcomes Research (HSOR) unit, allows the monitoring of the health of the population in the central region across three geographical zones – Central Health, Yishun Health and Woodlands Health – as well as for the longitudinal assessment of the health of the population over time.

11.      MOH has supported HSR since 2010 with the launch of the HSR Grant (HSRG) to encourage the creation and translation of knowledge into better care and improved health outcomes at a systems level. 

SIGNING OF MOU BETWEEN NHG AND NTU SINGAPORE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CLINICIAN SCIENTISTS

12.      With the evolving healthcare needs and demands, I believe the work of clinician scientists in therapeutic areas such as metabolic, infectious and skin diseases, as well as neuroscience and mental health will become more critical. Clinician scientists are important bridge-builders between new medical discoveries and their adaptation. NHG and NTU Singapore will be reaffirming their commitment through the signing of an MOU today to jointly develop and fund clinician scientists further.  

CLOSING 

13.      The initiatives we have in place will help to develop an innovative, value-based quality healthcare system that will be future-ready to address the ever-evolving needs of our population.  I am confident that you, and indeed all our healthcare professionals, will play an integral role in this exciting future. 

14.      In closing, I wish you a successful conference and hope that you will have a fruitful time sharing and learning from one another. Thank you.