Dr Clive Tan, Director for Integrated Care at the National Healthcare Group, wishes for the healthcare sector to bring data and insights back to the patients, families, and communities it serves. 

He calls on the sector to "collectively imagine such a future when we ourselves will have our personalised health information and insights at our fingertips".

"What kind of behaviour change and actions would that lead us to take?"

The lack of conversations and progress in this area may reflect the deep paternalistic roots of both healthcare and our Asian culture, Dr Tan says.

The former Group Head of the Force Health Group at the Singapore Armed Forces has over 16 years of clinical and leadership experience as a medical practitioner and public health specialist. He also served as a technical officer for the Western Pacific Regional Office of the World Health Organization, covering Quality and Patient Safety, Hospital Management, and Health Service Delivery and Innovation.

Establishing seamless data flow

At NHG, Dr Tan is working across teams to adopt an enterprise approach to population health needs assessment, alongside developing open-door programmes with a strong focus on preventive health elements and health behaviour change.

To do this effectively, he says, "we require data to flow seamlessly across a few key IT systems, and work concurrently on establishing the needs on both the supply and demand sides".

"The game changer in all these is the population health approach, because now we are not just addressing the health needs of our patients, but the scope has expanded to people who are not sick – people who are well," he says.

Increasing the scope of the population they are serving means they will have to find a "more efficient" way of doing things in a scalable manner. 

"Hence, digital solutions and data sharing shift from being a 'good to have' to a 'do or die' challenge".

Healthcare as a social science

Dr Tan, who is also an assistant professor at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, likes to remind his students that healthcare systems are "complex adaptive systems" with challenges that are often deep-rooted and interconnected. 

"Those new to healthcare will often proffer direct solutions to these challenges, and feel disappointed when it does not work," he notes.

He advises his students to see healthcare as a social science "where practitioners have to balance the art and science of healthcare management in order to make a palpable and lasting impact in their work".

Creating dialogue around data sharing 

Dr Tan will be joining a panel of key opinion leaders at the upcoming HIMSS22 APAC Conference where they will discuss the "whys" and "hows" of progressive and responsible sharing of health and healthcare data. 

"You should expect a candid and honest discussion session with the panelists – and we will also be able to take a few questions from the audience," he adds.

"Anyone who is working in this area or facing challenges in this area – I would strongly encourage you to attend this session at the conference."

Dr Tan will be speaking at the HIMSS22 APAC Conference during the keynote session, Data Sharing = Trust; Exploring Perspectives and Possibilities. The two-day conference will be happening in Bali, Indonesia on 27 & 28 September. Find out more here.