Customising the best healthcare management practices for Asia
Currently, most available healthcare management programmes are rooted in Western models, which do not address the distinctive challenges, cultural considerations, and operational realities faced by healthcare leaders in Asia. This gap underscores the need for the development of educational programmes that are purposefully designed to address the specific needs and complexities of healthcare leadership in Asia. Asian HEAL adopts a "for Asia, by Asia" approach that brings together prominent healthcare leaders from Singapore and other countries, such as India and the Philippines, to champion the uniquely Asian perspective on addressing healthcare management challenges in the region. Under Asian HEAL, effective health system models from across Asia will be studied to develop solutions that are culturally sensitive so that they can be feasible for adoption and scalable.
Clinical Associate Professor Tan Hiang Khoon, Director, SDGHI, said: "Asia shares commonalities in healthcare challenges such as ageing populations and the increasing prevalence of non-communicable disease such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases, driven by urbanisation and lifestyle changes. Asia is stronger when we stand together. Asian HEAL is the pivotal platform that will bring healthcare leaders across the region together to collaborate and strengthen our respective health systems. This enables greater health equity across our interconnected populations by elevating healthcare management expertise through knowledge exchange and sharing of best practices. Collectively, we can improve health outcomes and strengthen health systems across our region.
Practical and tailored education framework with distinguished faculty
Asian HEAL also aims to develop a steady pipeline of future leaders who are forward-looking, insightful and knowledgeable of the intricacies of the Asian healthcare landscape. This will be done through formal training and education programmes with curriculums anchored on case studies and insights drawn from across Asian healthcare institutions.
The Institute will launch a Masters programme that focuses on experiential and practice-based learning. The programme will cover critical areas such as Risk Management & Disease Preparedness, and Health Informatics & Digital Transformation. Participants will benefit from overseas site visits as part of the curriculum, which will provide them with exposure to the workings of diverse health systems and practical applications of healthcare management concepts.
Asian HEAL's teaching faculty and mentors include Dr Devi Shetty, renowned entrepreneur, cardiac surgeon, and chairman and founder of Narayana Health in India and Dr Carmencita Padilla, a distinguished clinical geneticist and paediatrician from the Philippines, who has been honoured as a National Scientist, as well as other prominent healthcare leaders from the public and private sectors.
In addition, Asian HEAL also offers customised programmes for organisations to address specific health system management issues, guided by an experienced faculty. The Asian HEAL faculty will engage with organisations to understand their needs and design a syllabus that addresses the challenges and opportunities. Organisations can thus bring their real-life challenges into the classroom and leverage the shared knowledge to devise specific solutions to these issues.
Professor Ong Biauw Chi, Lead of Asian HEAL, said, "Healthcare is no longer just about practising good medicine. It is about moving upstream to develop a broader perspective to find new ways to deliver quality service to patient populations. Asian HEAL serves as a platform for our future generation of healthcare leaders to engage with the region's established healthcare practitioners, who have developed some of the best healthcare models that we all can learn from. We hope that through Asian HEAL, we can provide that opportunity for Asia to learn from Asia."
Prof Michael Tee, Chancellor, University of Philippines Manila, and a speaker at the SHM 2024 congress, said, "As Asia's healthcare landscape evolves, so must its leaders. I'm excited to be part of this unique partnership and I am confident that Asian HEAL is well-positioned to help us confidently tackle new challenges in the horizon together."
More than a decade of fostering learning and networking for healthcare professionals
The SHM congress, organised by SingHealth since 2012, is an annual platform that brings together healthcare professionals, especially administrators, to facilitate learning and networking. This year's congress lineup features Mr Kevin Sowers, President and CEO of Johns Hopkins Health Systems, USA, who shared his experience in leading top American hospitals through financial recessions and global pandemics, Dr Michael Tee, and Professor Nick Watts, Director for the Centre of Sustainable Medicine at the National University of Singapore's Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.
The congress drew more than 1700 local and foreign healthcare professionals, administrators and thought leaders from fields of expertise such as healthcare management, communications and patient experience. Over 420 posters on topics ranging from Environmental Sustainability to Supply Chain and Finance were submitted by healthcare institutions across Singapore, showcasing the range of ideas and initiatives to improve patient care in the management and administration fields.
