Healthcare innovation spaces face dual problems.
On the one hand, new innovative solutions cannot find clinicians who need them, while on the other hand, medical staff cannot find solutions that will help their work.
“In many cases, the solution is there, but our clinicians don't know that such companies are already there because companies don't know how to enter the healthcare market,” says Ang Shin Yuh, director of the Alice Lee Innovation Excellence Centre (SGH) Campus (SGH) Campus.
“That's when Alice acts as a matchmaker, has the two parties make friends and hopefully get a winning collaboration.”
The center was launched in 2023 as part of the Sinhals Duknus Academic Medicine Innovation Institute (AMII) and Sinhals Innovation and Transformation (DO-IT).
SGH, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, and Changi General Hospital have dedicated centres.
Since its inception, the centre has aimed to deepen innovation through external partnerships and collaboration across diverse clinical specialties.
Ang says he considers Alice as a “shopfront” or “gateway.”
“If they (the company) want to chat with our clinicians, depending on their products and what sector they play in, that's where we link them to organize a specific session.”
The center helps clinicians to tap existing products, bringing clinicians together with industry partners to jointly develop new solutions, helping them to get a solution to clinical problems.
“We are always proud to support technology preparation level (TRL) to technology level (TRL) and above (TRL),” she says.
Talking to Govinsider Ang shares the importance of opening a door for a link between research and innovation, and the importance of opening a door for partnerships with the industry, getting solutions and how Alice stands as a safe space for both clinicians and industry players to share ideas and collaborate.
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Industry collaboration is important
The Center hosts sessions that connect industry partners with healthcare professionals as a way to promote collaboration and networking.
The session can focus on topics like dementia, for example.
“Every company that has a dementia solution comes in. Sometimes clinicians give open feedback to see why this solution works and why this solution doesn't work,” says ANG.
“Sometimes, this can evolve into co-development, and it can also be direct recruitment and skill (of the solution).”
Sharing an example of the themed session, ANG notes that on the last day of the nursing conference in Singapore, Alice will bring together industry players with innovation in nursing care to showcase solutions.
“Delegates around the world have had the opportunity to see what innovations can be made in the nursing space, and companies can access to get feedback and get some market sensing,” she adds.
According to Matchmaker, the relationships that ultimately work best are where companies and clinical teams are sensitive.
This is because successful collaboration requires agility to adapt to problems, fresh ideas to continue innovating, and openness to learn what works in a particular context, Ang says.
The light at the end of the task
For the healthcare sector, data collection and sustainability are two major concerns that balance when talking about innovation, Ang says.
Many devices and new solutions in the health technology field come with data collection, so this information overload can be mitigated with regard to the use of artificial intelligence (AI). However, this affects a second concern about sustainability.
“For every prompt we put into generative AI, we draw energy from some servers. Healthcare is already known to be bad for the environment, as we see more healthcare issues as the climate deteriorates,” she points out.
As a result, she is beginning to see trends in the healthcare innovation sector, which is “frugal innovation.”
Clinicians are beginning to realize that their needs may be best suited to simpler solutions, rather than complex or oversaturated solutions that tend to keep costs down.
Keeping Ang optimistic is that Alice is fostering a space where both industrial and medical professionals can create solutions in meaningful ways.
“Our leadership is a very well-maintained (in) industry. As a public sector, if we don't commercialize it, we won't be able to get solutions from doctors and nurses, and we won't get to the patients.
“Now, more and more people are beginning to be enlightened (these partnerships). Without industry partners, there's no solution to put out there.”
Despite the remaining challenges, Ang says the centre is light as it supports co-creation and partnerships seeking solutions that not only benefit the industry and clinicians, but also positively impact patient care.
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Understanding transformation from the ground
Ang's background in her research and first-hand experience as a nurse was the foundation of her role as director of Alice on the SGH campus.
She recalls her own research early in her nursing career, with the constant support of her boss who sponsored her to pursue a Masters in Business Administration (MBA).
“I was in the ward, I saw how nursing was run, I saw how seniors struggled… I told my boss. I wanted to read the profit and loss statement, I wanted to be able to pitch, I wanted to be able to write business cases to fight for resources,” Ang said.
Back in an MBA, ANG spent two years studying health services before returning to nursing and helping to establish a nursing research unit.
“Research and innovation are very closely woven. In recent years, the ageing and talent crunch has made me really seek to really look for a change in technology and nursing as a whole.”
Beyond research, it was her experience on the ground as a nurse that she was challenged, she says.
“We have learned that we haven’t been doing that well yet, when we were trying to get the most updated evidence to influence our practice, and we are also aware that evidence alone is not enough.
“We may need new devices, but they may be better than what companies can sell us, and we must innovate and solve the problems people experience every day.
She added that this will help her get a more systematic perspective. Different wards shared similar issues.
“I started joining the dot together and realized that we needed to transform. We can't solve the problem of one ward. We need to go upstream to solve the whole problem.”
Alongside her role as director of the Alice @ SGH campus, A/P Ang Shin Yuh is the director of nurses at the National Dental Center Singapore, assistant director of nurses at SGH and Singhealth. She will be one of the speakers for Govinsider's Healthcare Day on September 16th.
