Empower clinicians to better support the public health system

Speaking to The Straits Times on the support needed for the public health system in future, Prof Chong identified a “new breed of doctors”. These would be healthcare professionals who understand the importance of population health. He feels that too many doctors are currently trained to function in a specialised setting, such as a hospital, rather than in a community setting. He believes that clinicians should only go on to specialise in public health after having practised medicine, and underscored the importance of doctors needing to understand the health system in order to properly hand over their patients to the next stage of their treatment.

To address these gaps, he said that NUS will be introducing five pillars of knowledge that will be common across NUS Medicine and the schools of dentistry, public health and pharmacy: communications and behavioural science; health ethics, law and professionalism; data literacy; social and emotional determinants of health; and digital literacy. NUS Medicine will also be recruiting experts in family medicine to improve training in this area, conduct research into longevity and human potential, and offer courses in health economics and health systems.

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In the latest episode of Tanoto Foundation’s Podcast series, Unlocking Potential, Prof Chong discussed the current gaps in medical research and education with the Global CEO of Tanoto Foundation Dr J. Satrijo Tanudjojo. He outlined many areas in the healthcare landscape that philanthropies are well-positioned to drive as well as research and education gaps that they can help fill. Prof Chong and Dr Satrijo also spoke about how Tanoto Foundation’s initiatives can help build capabilities needed to support future health systems in the region.

Click here to watch the full episode.