Speech by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Health at the 28th Singapore Pharmacy Congress 2018, 4 August 2018

Ms Joyce Tan, Chairperson, 28th Singapore Pharmacy Congress Organising Committee

Ms Irene Quay, President, Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore

Associate Professor Lita Chew, Chief Pharmacist

Mr Wu Tuck Seng, President, Singapore Pharmacy Council

Distinguished guests and speakers

Ladies and Gentlemen

1. A very good morning to all of you. I am indeed delighted to join you at the 28th Singapore Pharmacy Congress, and I am really heartened to see all of you at this event today.  

2. Our healthcare system has served us well. We have strived to ensure accessibility, quality as well as affordability to healthcare services. Nonetheless, to overcome the many challenges that lie ahead, we must strive for continual improvements to sustain our healthcare system.

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   TRANSFORMING HEALTHCARE

4. The average lifespan of Singaporeans born in 2017 is now 82.8 years old, 7.5 years more than in 1990. By 2030, one in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above, up from the current one in seven. The ageing population is not a new phenomenon, as many countries, both developed and developing, around the world are facing similar challenges. The healthcare needs of our population will evolve and our healthcare system will need to transform to continue to be sustainable and to serve our population well.

5. The theme for this year’s congress “Challenging the Paradigm, Creating Value” resonates indeed closely with the Ministry of Health’s “3 Beyonds”, one of which is to go beyond quality and offer patients value in healthcare provision, as well as build a sustainable healthcare system for the future. It is also timely for the Congress to emphasise going beyond traditional pharmacy roles to meet patients’ needs and add value, while ensuring sustainability of our healthcare system.

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   CHALLENGING THE PARADIGM

7. Conventionally, pharmacy services are delivered face to face. Consumers usually visit a pharmacy for a brief consultation and to collect their medications. However, the advancement of technology has started to disrupt how pharmacy services can be delivered. Many pharmacies have innovated to stay relevant and create value for patients, including bringing services to patients as and when needed.

8. One example is the National University Hospital Pharmacy’s MyMeds app. Patients can now reorder their medicines, create a medication list and obtain drug information on the app. Feedback to this has been positive. Currently there are 5,400 users, and the numbers are growing steadily. Other smart solutions like medication dispensing kiosks and federated lockers are untapped platforms that will soon make collection of medication directly from the pharmacy the least convenient option.

9. Telehealth solutions have also impacted the delivery of care. At our KK Women's and Children's Hospital, pharmacists provide consultation services to patients with paediatric eczema via the tele-consult platform. The service has served approximately 240 patients since its implementation in early 2017, with 83 of these follow-ups conducted via video conferencing between patients and trained dermatology pharmacists. If a patient’s condition is well controlled, the pharmacist can resupply topical medications remotely and the patient can pay less visits to his or her dermatologist. Caregivers surveyed were satisfied with the provision of this service by pharmacists. In the upcoming second phase, pharmacists will be empowered to discharge patients whose conditions are stable and well-controlled back to community care, freeing dermatologists to see new patients and focus on complex issues. It is evident that pharmacy services provided via tele-consultation have the potential to be an integral part of pharmaceutical care but there is also a corresponding need to have clear guidelines to ensure effective and safe delivery of care through such alternative platforms. To meet this need, the Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore (PSS) has revised the Guidelines for Telepharmacy and the recently launched version has catered for a wider scope, including tele-pharmaceutical care services.

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    GROOMING NEXT GENERATION LEADERS

11. As our healthcare landscape evolves, we need good leaders to continue to drive professional growth in the pharmacy workforce as well as healthcare transformation. MOH is supporting pharmacists’ development towards advanced practice through the Advanced Practice Competency Framework. This framework serves as a developmental tool that articulates a pharmacist’s scope of practice and defines the knowledge, skills and attributes that are required in advanced practice. It is an enabler for pharmacists to systematically identify areas for continuous professional development and acquire new competencies to advance their practice. The guidebook on Competency Standards for Pharmacists in Advanced Practice was launched in August 2017. Since May this year, 126 pharmacy leaders and senior pharmacists have attended training workshops to facilitate the adoption of the framework.

12. To ensure continuity of the vision of the pharmacy profession, it is crucial to plan for succession and groom future pharmacy leaders. I am indeed heartened to hear that PSS has recently launched a mentorship programme and 10 young pharmacist leaders have been selected to be mentored by experienced seniors, who are esteemed leaders in various sectors of pharmacy practice and who have contributed greatly to the profession. In the next few years, PSS will be exploring ways to extend this critical and meaningful initiative to more members.

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    CREATE VALUE THROUGH COLLABORATION

14. Collaboration is the cornerstone for success in providing patient centred care. With collaborative prescribing, pharmacists, as members of a multidisciplinary clinical team, can legally prescribe medicines under the supervision of a doctor. Experienced senior pharmacists can now enrol in the National Collaborative Prescribing Programme to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to perform more advanced roles as well as expand their scope of practice. This will improve patients’ access to quality care, and reduce delays in treatment. As of July 2018, a total of 19 senior pharmacists have completed the first run of the training programme and are now certified collaborative prescribing practitioners.

15. The Pharmaceutical Care Programme implemented by the PSS Intermediate and Long Term Care (ILTC) Workgroup in various nursing homes is another successful example of creating value through collaboration. Since its introduction in 2011, the number of nursing homes that are part of this programme has grown significantly. To date, 80% of nursing homes in Singapore have adopted this programme as part of their standard of care. Pharmacists work together with physicians and nurses to review medications, resolve drug related problems and develop policies which will improve medication safety and practices at the nursing homes.

16. I am also excited to share that pharmacists in the PSS ILTC workgroup have also extended such collaboration to homes under Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) such as Meranti Home as well as with the National Kidney Foundation from June 2018. Pharmaceutical care services are rolled out at these organisations with the aim of establishing good medication practices to improve patient safety. I look forward to more positive outcomes from this collaboration.

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    CONCLUSION

18. The pharmacy profession in Singapore has indeed progressed significantly, but continuous transformation is necessary for healthcare to remain sustainable. I encourage all of you to make every effort to find innovative means to deliver pharmacy services and create value for our people.

19. Let me end by wishing all of you here a most successful and fruitful congress. Thank you very much.