2.6 and 7.4 respectively. After the pandemic hit in a few months ago, the healthcare system faced the risk of being “overwhelmed” in terms of resources and healthcare staff.
Singapore has an aging population, and the cost of living is on the rise on top of the pandemic stress. Therefore, there is a need for healthcare systems to deliver healthcare services in a smarter and more efficient manner – one that will alleviate current issues, such as long working hours and the large number of A&E patients.
As the government digitalises healthcare systems in the country, technology can be used improve employees and patients’ experiences. The Centre for Healthcare Assistive and Robotics Technologies (CHART) – spearheaded by Changi General Hospital, Ministry of Health (MOH) and Singapore Economic Development Board – stated automation as one of their key focus areas to boost employee productivity, as well as improve health and clinical outcomes by extending human capabilities and delivering higher precision in treatment.
As implied in the strategic plan, digital solutions underlying CHART’s initiatives will be powered, in part with automation to further develop and improve digital services are already in play across healthcare systems in the country.
Dealing with the global pandemic has opened avenues and enhanced new ways of working and operating in the healthcare sector. A survey called Blue Prism survey of more than 400 senior level healthcare professionals across the globe, 93 percent said that automation of processes accelerated because of COVID-19, with 58 percent of respondents replacing paper documents with electronic equivalents, and 57 percent taking the opportunity to build new, automated processes that improved the way they interact with patients and other departments. Forty-five percent said they have replaced in-person consultations with video conferencing, a practice that is likely to continue in the years ahead.
Clearly, the future is bright for the adoption of IA and digital solutions, with the healthcare sector a fertile ground for further deployments to drive greater sustainable healthcare for all. More than ever, healthcare organisations are challenged to do more for patients with the same resources or less. By leveraging IA to power laborious processes while improving existing solutions like telehealth, it is possible for Singapore’s healthcare systems to not only achieve financial sustainability but directly address issues around service availability, so that doctors and nurses can finally be freed up to focus and care for patients with urgent medical needs.
