4 October 2007 - The Ministry of Health, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore and The Enterprise Challenge under the Prime Minister’s Office launched a joint Healthcare Call-for-Collaboration (CFC) to seek infocomm (ICT) solutions to improve cost-efficiency and quality of healthcare delivery for the nation's public and private healthcare institutions. This collaboration aims to exploit ICT maximally, as a key enabler in healthcare transformation and to promote innovation to change work processes and how care is delivered. The CFC closes on 31 Jan 2008.
Singapore, 4 October 2007 | For Immediate Release
The Ministry of Health (MOH), the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and The Enterprise Challenge (TEC) under the Prime Minister's Office launched a joint Healthcare Call-for-Collaboration (CFC) today. This collaboration aims to exploit IT maximally, as a key enabler in healthcare transformation and to promote innovation to change work processes and how care is delivered. It seeks infocomm (ICT) solutions to improve cost-efficiency and quality of healthcare delivery for the nation's public and private healthcare institutions.
The tripartite working collaboration will invest an amount of $3million to encourage innovations in the following areas:
- Delivering safer care by enhancing medication safety, reducing healthcare associated infections, improving communication among healthcare practitioners during patient handovers and ensuring right site procedures (for example, right implant and right patient).
- Enhancing quality of care by providing care the patient needs according to best medical science and evidence available today (e.g. timely information to support decision making), improving the continuity of care and reducing reworks (e.g. re-admission, repeat procedures, etc).
- Achieving greater efficiency in healthcare operations by facilitating re-engineering of workflows and simplification and standardisation of processes.
This is part of IDA's iN2015 plan for the Healthcare sector to better leverage ICT effectively to enable innovation in healthcare delivery processes.
Role of Infocomm Technology in Healthcare and Its Benefits
Healthcare is information-intensive and this is where ICT can be a key enabler to improve the quality and cost effectiveness of the healthcare delivery process. ICT innovations in healthcare institutions are playing a critical role in improving healthcare quality, such as significant reduction of preventable medication errors in the case of Computerised Physician Order Entry (CPOE).
A key benefit of leveraging on ICT is providing healthcare practitioners with access to timely and accurate information and complementing their decision-making process with clinical decision support systems. This will help to enhance the quality of care and also enable doctors to manage their patients at the right level of care. For example, visibility of patients' medical history allows a principal physician to holistically manage and coordinate the care of patients with chronic diseases who may require treatment from different specialists across the healthcare system for their multiple ailments.
Infocomm Technology Innovations in Healthcare
In recent years, Singapore's healthcare institutions have been pushing the envelope in using ICT to improve existing methods and introduce innovative applications into the healthcare system. For example, 12 innovative projects from the healthcare and ICT sectors were supported through the previous Healthcare CFC issued by IDA on 1 Sep 2005.
The innovations included a project by the National Skin Centre to allow doctors to describe patients' conditions diagrammatically with precise location of the clinical findings in electronic form. All annotated charts are integrated with the centre's Electronic Medical Record systems and retrievable during consultations. The project has led to better patient care because doctors can now record more accurate information to chart progress of skin disorders. The Singapore General Hospital also piloted an integrated wireless monitoring system that can automatically capture a wide range of patients' vital signs, namely blood pressure, pulse rate, electrocardiogram (ECG), oxygen saturation, respiration rate and temperature in its Digital Ward. Please refer to the factsheet (631.46KB) for details on the projects.
Details on the joint Healthcare CFC can be found on www.healthcareit.com.sg.
JOINTLY ISSUED BY MINISTRY OF HEALTH, INFOCOMM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE AND THE ENTERPRISE CHALLENGE
About Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is committed to growing Singapore into a dynamic global Infocomm hub. IDA uses an integrated approach to developing Infocommunications in Singapore. This involves nurturing a competitive telecoms market as well as a conducive business environment with programmes and schemes for both local and international companies. For more news and information, visit https://www.imda.gov.sg/.
About The Enterprise Challenge
The Enterprise Challenge (TEC) is an initiative to harness innovative ideas for the Public Service. It provides support for the trial testing of innovative ideas that has the potential to create new value and bring about improvements in the delivery of public services. TEC charts a milestone in the Singapore Public Service's journey to excellence through innovation and enterprise.
For media clarifications, please contact:
MOH
Esther WONG (Ms)
Principal Manager, Media Relations
Corporate Communications Division
Tel: +65 6325 7429
Fax: +65 6224 1677
Email: Esther_Wong@moh.gov.sg
IDA
Lena HAN (Ms)
Manager, Corporate and Marketing Communication
Tel: +65 6211 0649
Fax: +65 6211 2227
Email: Lena_Han@imda.gov.sg
TEC
Andy ONG (Mr)
Assistant Manager, Communications and International Relations
Tel: +65 63327175
HP: +65 97378335
Email: Andy_Ong@psd.gov.sg
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