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Registration

Registration desks at Foyer 5 will open at 7.30am and close at 4.00pm

Tea Break and Poster Viewing
Opening and Award Ceremonies
Guest of Honour: Dr Janil Puthucheary

Delegates are to be seated by 9:45am

  • Guest of Honour: Dr Janil Puthucheary (Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of Health)

    Guest of Honour: Dr Janil Puthucheary

    Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of Health
Keynote Lecture: Value-Based Healthcare/Transformation
Dr Prem Kumar Nair

Value-based healthcare is about providing the best quality appropriate care to patients and reducing medical costs at the same time. It does not refer to a single care episode but to the overall wellness of people. The emphasis is on the quality of care given to patients, not the quantity.

As medications and therapies are integral to patient care, the role of the pharmacist in this area is a very important one. From patient education, physician partnering and involvement in the therapeutics committees to cost-effective procurement and supply chain efficiency, pharmacists are central to the concept of value-based healthcare.

  • Dr Prem Kumar Nair (Chief Executive Officer at IHH Healthcare Singapore)

    Dr Prem Kumar Nair

    Chief Executive Officer at IHH Healthcare Singapore
Lunch Break
Lunch Symposium: Probiotics in the Management of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (Sponsored by DCH Auriga)
Dr Wang Yu Tien

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a chronic functional gastrointestinal disorder which is associated with alterations in the Gut Microbiome. This results in bothersome abdominal discomfort and altered bowel habits. As there is evidence that probiotics are effective in managing IBS symptoms, we will review its clinical use in the management of IBS.

  • Dr Wang Yu Tien (Senior Consultant, Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Nobel Gastroenterology Centre Gleneagles Medical Centre)

    Dr Wang Yu Tien

    Senior Consultant, Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Nobel Gastroenterology Centre Gleneagles Medical Centre
Track 1: EvolutionRapid Diagnostics and the Evolution of Antibiotic Stewardship
A/Prof Christine Teng

Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) can reduce the time to identification and/or susceptibilities of pathogens from days to mere hours. This talk will review how implementation of RDTs has enhanced appropriate use of antibiotics and improved patient outcomes especially when integrated with antibiotic stewardship programmes. Awareness of RDTs’ benefits and limitations, along with assessment of institutional needs, will be critical to ensure effective implementation and augmentation of antibiotic stewardship programmes.

  • A/Prof Christine Teng (Associate Professor,  Department of Pharmacy at National University of Singapore)

    A/Prof Christine Teng

    Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy at National University of Singapore
Track 1: EvolutionLow Clearance Clinic
Dr Sim Mui Hian

Low Clearance Clinic started as a one-stop multidisciplinary clinic for patients with chronic kidney failure, primarily to facilitate timely renal replacement therapy planning on top of optimising their condition and management of any symptoms that they may have. In this clinic, besides the doctor's consult, the patient may also have consults with other healthcare professionals such as the pharmacist, nurse, dietician, medical social worker, and renal coordinator as needed. Through this talk, we will explore the transformation of Low Clearance Clinic, expanded roles of the pharmacist as a collaborative prescriber, key monitoring outcomes, challenges faced and opportunities ahead.

  • Dr Sim Mui Hian (Principal Clinical Pharmacist at Singapore General Hospital)

    Dr Sim Mui Hian

    Principal Clinical Pharmacist at Singapore General Hospital
Track 1: EvolutionEDIFY: Mitigating ED Admissions Amongst Elders
Ms Selina Cheong

“Front-door geriatrics” is the term coined for front-loading geriatric assessments and interventions right from the emergency department (ED), so as to meet the multidimensional needs of vulnerable older adults and reduce adverse outcomes. These measures are essential to the prompt management of frail older adults with complex needs. At Tan Tock Seng Hospital, we have successfully established the Emergency Department Interventions for Frailty (EDIFY) programme consisting of geriatric-trained healthcare professionals, with aims of minimising potentially avoidable admissions and delivering early integrated geriatric interventions at the ED. For this talk, we present a novel front-door transdisciplinary care model, describing the role of the geriatric clinical pharmacist beyond the usual scope of practice. Additional responsibilities include early assessment (performing history-taking and physical examination, ordering diagnostic tests) of patients with potential for discharge from the ED or transfer to lower-acuity care areas, as well as early escalation of ill cases to the geriatricians, when indicated.

  • Ms Selina Cheong (Senior Pharmacist (Clinical) at Tan Tock Seng Hospital)

    Ms Selina Cheong

    Senior Pharmacist (Clinical) at Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Track 1: EvolutionQ&A Session
Presentation of Outstanding Abstracts & Tea Break
Plenary Lecture 1: Chief Pharmacist's AddressRiding on the Forces for Change
Dr Camilla Wong

Our environment is rapidly changing, and we need to evolve to keep up, but what does that mean? Internal and external drivers of healthcare accentuate the need for us to understand how our workforce needs to transform to deliver current and future healthcare models. What is the leadership that needs to see us through these forces for change that includes changing expectations of the younger generations, new therapies, pandemics, and the changing healthcare financing models, e.g. Healthier SG? What do we need to consider from a service delivery, manpower capability and workspace transformation perspective, using technology as an enabler? How do we better prepare our pharmacy workforce? An engaged workforce is one that finds meaning and purpose in what they do, with quality relationships as its cornerstone, increasing team spirit, mutual respect, and importantly, trust. With this, collective thinking can occur, allowing the pharmacy fraternity to forge onwards and change at a faster speed.

  • Dr Camilla Wong (Chief Pharmacist, Chief Pharmacist's Office at Ministry of Health)

    Dr Camilla Wong

    Chief Pharmacist, Chief Pharmacist's Office at Ministry of Health
Evening Symposium: Managing Cancer Patients in the Current COVID-19 Pandemic (Sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb)
Clin Asst Prof Lee Jie Xin Joycelyn

In this session, we share insights on how to manage cancer patients with concomitant COVID-19 infections. We will discuss if patients on active cancer treatment have a predisposition to COVID-19 infections, weigh risk-benefits of persisting with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor (ICI) therapy, educate on how to best time COVID-19 primary vaccination series and/or booster shots and discuss vaccine-related reactions. In so doing, we hope to synthesizse the information towards holistic management of cancer patients in the community.

  • Clin Asst Prof Lee Jie Xin Joycelyn (Consultant,  Division of Medical Oncology at National Cancer Centre Singapore)

    Clin Asst Prof Lee Jie Xin Joycelyn

    Consultant,  Division of Medical Oncology at National Cancer Centre Singapore
Social Night

Venue: TAP Craft Beer Bar @ Millenia Walk
Address: 9 Raffles Blvd, #01-06/07/08, Singapore 039596
Free Flow Food and Drinks will be provided.

*Registration for this event is closed.

RegistrationDay 2

Registration desks at Foyer 5 will open at 7.30am and close at 4.00pm

Plenary Lecture 2.1: Reinvention for the New NormalLeadership: Thinking Differently
A/Prof Audrey Chia

One of the underrated roles of a leader is that of intellectual stimulation. In A/Prof Chia’s research on social innovation in global health and medicine, she used case studies and systematic empirical analysis to examine how social innovators have solved complex or intractable problems. These social innovators thought differently about the problems and encouraged others to do the same. The socially innovative practices associated with thinking differently can be applied by leaders in any field, to better engage and activate the creativity of the people whom they lead.

  • A/Prof Audrey Chia (Associate Professor, NUS Business School and Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at National University of Singapore)

    A/Prof Audrey Chia

    Associate Professor, NUS Business School and Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at National University of Singapore
Plenary Lecture 2.2: Reinvention for the New NormalLearning From Other Industries
Dr Colin Tan

This presentation will cover how the SAF and the SCDF responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, both to maintain the operational readiness of the forces, and to support the national effort.

In particular, this presentation will share the unique setups of the uniformed organisations which well-position them to respond in such contingencies and illustrate with examples how these are integral to Singapore's overall response.

Lastly, this presentation introduces paramedics as an allied health profession, touching on their training and skillsets which define their irreplaceable role in the local healthcare system; and how they have and continue to contribute to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Dr Colin Tan (Chief Medical Officer at Singapore Civil Defence Force)

    Dr Colin Tan

    Chief Medical Officer at Singapore Civil Defence Force
Plenary Lecture 2: Reinvention for the New NormalPanel Discussion / Q&A
Morning Symposium: Updates on COVID-19 Therapeutic Options
Dr Shawn Vasoo

The rapid development of therapeutic options from prevention to treatment against SARS-CoV-2 is exciting news but few of us understand what this means. How do we know if the drug is safe and effective? Will all patients be optimally protected from cOVID-19? What are the considerations to be made before prescribing a drug?

Adjunct Assistant Professor Shawn Vasoo, Clinical Director at National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and Senior Consultant in the Department of Infectious Diseases at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, will provide his perspectives on the various therapeutic innovations, drawing from his extensive experience at the forefront against COVID-19.

  • Dr Shawn Vasoo (Clinical Director & Senior Consultant of National Centre for Infectious Diseases)

    Dr Shawn Vasoo

    Clinical Director & Senior Consultant of National Centre for Infectious Diseases
Tea Break & Poster Viewing
Track 4: PrecisionTransforming Health in Singapore through Precision Medicine
Prof Patrick Tan

Singapore, like many other countries, faces evolving healthcare demands driven by a rapidly ageing population and increased prevalence of chronic diseases. Precision Medicine (PM) is an innovative data-driven medical approach, where scientists and doctors take into consideration the patient’s genetic background, lifestyle, and environmental factors to pre-empt the development of diseases, deliver accurate diagnosis and optimise treatments.

In Singapore, the National Precision Medicine (NPM) programme is a whole-of-government approach to explore how PM should be best deployed to transform healthcare, drive research and clinical innovation, propel growth and create value propositions to uplift the local biomed tech industry. Through NPM, we hope to preserve health and improve health outcomes through a data-driven medical approach to provide Singaporeans with the highest quality of life.

  • Prof Patrick Tan (Executive Director of Precision Health Research Singapore (PRECISE))

    Prof Patrick Tan

    Executive Director of Precision Health Research Singapore (PRECISE)
Track 4: PrecisionQPOP: An AI-Application Towards Personalised Cancer Treatment
A/Prof Edward Chow

It is evident that cancer, even within the same subtype, is often driven by a diverse range of molecular mechanisms. Identifying the most suitable therapeutic option from amongst a range of available drugs is a daunting task given the large search space and the lack of suitable predictive biomarkers. We have developed a complex system analytics platform, Quadratic Phenotypic Optimisation Platform (QPOP), that uses real biological drug combination sensitivity data to derive and rank all possible therapeutic outcomes from a drug search set. When applied towards ex vivo patient-specific drug sensitivity testing, QPOP has shown promise in helping clinicians identify appropriate therapies for specific patients. The early promise of these platforms suggests that truly personalised medicine is achievable in cancer. However, a number of hurdles remain. We will discuss both the promise and problems that face implementing technology towards making personalised medicine a reality in cancer.

  • A/Prof Edward Chow (Associate Professor, Cancer Science Institute of Singapore at National University of Singapore)

    A/Prof Edward Chow

    Associate Professor, Cancer Science Institute of Singapore at National University of Singapore
Track 4: PrecisionPharmacogenomics in NeurologyA Pharmacist's Perspective
Dr Wong Pei Shieen

Pharmacogenomics, often viewed as the “low-hanging fruit” of genomics medicine, has made significant advances over the last decade. Clinical application has become a reality with the development of comprehensive databases and clinical practice guidelines, by international workgroups such as the PharmGKB, Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC®) and the Dutch Pharmacogenetics Working Group (DPWG). As of June 2021, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has 326 approved drugs with a corresponding pharmacogenomic biomarker on the drug label, of which 10% are used in neurology. In Singapore, HLA-B*15:02 genotyping before initiating carbamazepine in patients of Asian ancestry was the first widely implemented pharmacogenomic test, recommended as standard of care by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) of Singapore, to prevent Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis. Other notable drug-gene pairs that are relevant in the field of Neurology include CYP2C19 genotyping to assess treatment efficacy of clopidogrel for stroke prevention, and CYP2C9 genotyping prior to initiation of siponimod. This session will highlight current integration of pharmacogenomics in the clinical management of neurological disorders, practical challenges with respect to clinical implementation and future directions.

  • Dr Wong Pei Shieen (Senior Principal Clinical Pharmacist at Singapore General Hospital)

    Dr Wong Pei Shieen

    Senior Principal Clinical Pharmacist at Singapore General Hospital
Track 4: PrecisionQ&A Session
Lunch Break
Lunch Symposium: Deep Dive on Peripheral Neuropathy (Sponsored by Procter & Gamble)
Dr Alexander Tan
  • Dr Alexander Tan (Consultant Endocrinologist at Sunway Medical Centre)

    Dr Alexander Tan

    Consultant Endocrinologist at Sunway Medical Centre
Plenary Lecture 3.1: Resilience and RecoveryThe Art of Becoming Resilient
Dr Huang Wanping

This presentation will explore what we can all try and do within our internal locus of control to own our individual journeys in becoming resilient. Resilience is defined as one's ability to withstand, adapt and grow in the face of adversity, setback, and failure. In so doing, we will be able to develop an individual action plan as we learn how to become resilient using the “Withstand Adapt Grow” framework. This simple framework serves as a guide to help operationalise the efforts one can take to shore up his level of individual resilience.

  • Dr Huang Wanping (Head, Principal Psychologist at Tan Tock Seng Hospital)

    Dr Huang Wanping

    Head, Principal Psychologist at Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Plenary Lecture 3.2: Resilience and RecoveryThe Disappearing Commute
Ms Soon Jiaying

Do you find yourself feeling exhausted and less effective at work? These are some characteristics of burnout, which occurs when chronic workplace stress is not effectively managed. The uncertainties, reduced social interactions and frequent changes in regulations have worn people down.

Working from home has made it more difficult to strive for a work-life balance. This in turn leads to a sense of disconnection between engagement and well-being in both work and personal life. This talk introduces you to ways to enhance your well-being. You will learn about the signs, symptoms, and stages of burnout, as well as the difference between burnout and other mental health conditions. This educational talk will also provide you with strategies to cope with burnout and enlighten you on an alternative perspective of work-life engagement as opposed to work-life balance.

  • Ms Soon Jiaying (Senior Clinical Psychologist at Resilienz)

    Ms Soon Jiaying

    Senior Clinical Psychologist at Resilienz
Plenary Lecture 3.3: Resilience and RecoveryJoy in Work
Prof Chua Hong Choon

The past couple of years, dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, have been an extremely stressful and challenging period for healthcare workers in Singapore; and many have experienced significant declines in their well-being, both physical and mental. It is therefore important to acknowledge the importance of staff well-being in healthcare organisations.

The Joy in Work movement, initiated by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, has special relevance as we help healthcare workers to focus on what matters most in their work. This plenary session will examine the key elements of the Joy in Work framework, and how they can be applied to the local healthcare setting, to improve the well-being of healthcare workers in Singapore.

  • Prof Chua Hong Choon (Chief Executive Officer at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and Yishun Health)

    Prof Chua Hong Choon

    Chief Executive Officer at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and Yishun Health
Plenary Lecture 3: Resilience and Recovery Panel Discussion / Q&A
Award Presentation for Outstanding Posters and Abstracts
Track 7: AdvancementTechnology Enablement in Singapore’s Pharmacy Services: A New Frontier
Dr Goh Cheong Hian

Under the Health Products (Licensing of Retail Pharmacies) Regulations 2016, a pharmacy licence is issued by HSA for the company to carry on a retail pharmacy business specified in the licence. Over the years, there is greater use of technology in the Singapore healthcare landscape. It is important that companies comply with the requirements when integrating technology into their pharmacy activities. This presentation shares an overview of the technology enablement (e.g., tele-pharmacy service, e-Pharmacy) in Singapore’s pharmacy services, the expectations and responsibilities of pharmacy licensees; and HSA guidance resources for licensees to prepare and fulfil the prescribed legislative responsibilities.

  • Dr Goh Cheong Hian (Deputy Director, Audit and Licensing Division of Health Sciences Authority)

    Dr Goh Cheong Hian

    Deputy Director, Audit and Licensing Division of Health Sciences Authority
Track 7: AdvancementSingapore's 1st E-Pharmacy: WellAway
Mr Marshall Liu

WellAway e-Pharmacy is Singapore’s first HSA-registered e-Pharmacy and a subsidiary of Pan-Malayan Pharmaceuticals, Singapore’s leading local pharmaceutical wholesaler.

Setting up an e-Pharmacy is beyond codes and programming. It needs to take into consideration one’s logistic capabilities and buy-ins from various stakeholders such as pharmaceutical companies, doctors and patients. It is also important for pharmacists to rethink their roles in the digital setting. In this session, Marshall will share the success and hard work behind WellAway e-Pharmacy and how pharmacists can play a part in the new era of digital health.

  • Mr Marshall Liu (Associate Manager at WellAway E-Pharmacy)

    Mr Marshall Liu

    Associate Manager at WellAway E-Pharmacy
Track 7: AdvancementIncorporating Technology into Community Pharmacy Services in the Time of COVID-19: A Hong Kong Perspective
Mr Hubert Suen

COVID-19 has brought its fair share of challenges to community pharmacies and the residential care/nursing homes that they serve. This includes manpower shortages, a reduction of nursing home visitations by clinicians and pharmacists, and in turn – a reduction of face-to-face clinical meetings. The traditional reliance of residential care/nursing homes on paper medication charts to prepare, check and subsequently administer medications to their residents compounds the issues brought along by COVID-19. During the pandemic, technological innovations such as Zoom meetings and various iOS applications have allowed community pharmacists to overcome some of these challenges to ensure they can provide continuity of care for their patients.

  • Mr Hubert Suen (Pharmaceutical Officer at ActiveCare Group)

    Mr Hubert Suen

    Pharmaceutical Officer at ActiveCare Group
Track 7: AdvancementQ&A Session