SINGAPORE,
16 March 2018 – Digital transformation and convergence is giving
Singapore’s healthcare sector a major boost through new partnerships, more job
opportunities and training programmes through the TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA)
initiative to attract and develop a skilled pool of Health Tech professionals.
The convergence of technology in the healthcare sector is integral in deepening
Singapore’s capability development, as technology is a key enabler in making
healthcare system more productive and future-ready in a digital economy.

 Today’s inaugural Health Tech Day
brought together over 40 organisations including healthcare institutions,
companies and training partners to showcase cutting-edge product innovations,
with more than 500 job opportunities.
Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information and Health
Mr Chee Hong Tat addressed industry practitioners, students and working
professionals at the event organised by the Infocomm Media Development
Authority (IMDA), in partnership with Integrated Health Information Systems
(IHiS). The event included speakerships by industry experts, conversation
series with venture capitalists, technology showcases, company visits; offering
ICT professionals and students a holistic experience of the Health Tech
innovations and career opportunities in healthcare.

As part of the industry collective effort to develop
skilled ICT talent to augment the Health Tech workforce, global
biopharmaceutical company MSD is the latest partner on-board to boost the
TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) initiative, which aims to accelerate professional
development for tech jobs. As one of the companies under TeSA’s Company Led
Training programme, MSD is committed to equipping over 90 ICT professionals
with in-demand skills in cybersecurity, data analytics, cloud computing and
software development over the next three years through on-the-job training and
overseas attachments. In addition, the partnership will also catalyse the
employment of both fresh and mid-level ICT professionals which contributes to
the ecosystem, especially in the healthcare sector.

To support mid-career professionals in their transition
to the healthcare sector, IHiS has targeted to place and train 50 mid-career
PMETs through Workforce Singapore’s Adapt and Grow Professional

Conversion Programmes (PCPs) over the
next two years. IHiS will tap on the existing PCPs for job roles such as
network engineer, mobile application developer and software developer. The
training duration for these PCPs can range from 3 to 9 months, including
on-the-job training.

“Today, industries are rapidly digitalising and
transforming. Companies must also embrace technology to remain competitive in a
digital economy. Through the TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) initiative, IMDA is
working with industry partners to build a vibrant pool of tech talent to
support this digital transformation. We are pleased to partner stakeholders
like IHiS, Philips and Farrer Park Hospital to accelerate our efforts in nurturing
a pipeline of ICT professionals to take on a new set of exciting digital jobs
in the healthcare sector,” said Mr Tan
Kiat How, Chief Executive, IMDA

“HealthTech is an exciting space to be in now.
Investments in this sector grew by 7% over the last three years. Moving
forward, the growth is expected to double and grow by some 13% in the next
three years. The trajectory growth would translate to a demand of approximately
1,200 more health IT jobs. We welcome more talents to join the HealthTech industry
in shaping the future of healthcare in Singapore,” said Mr Bruce Liang, Chief Information Officer, Ministry of Health &
Chief Executive Officer, IHiS.

Organised by IHiS, the inaugural
National HealthTech Challenge brings together healthcare professionals,
research institutes and the tech industry, to identify and solve pressing
healthcare issues through technology on a national scale. The Challenge is
themed to align the Ministry of Health’s three shifts – Beyond Healthcare to
Health, Beyond Hospital to Community, and Beyond Quality to Value.   Through various shortlist sessions, IHiS
will select up to 10 promising solutions, and provide support to pilot the
project, ranging from policy compliance, regulatory and ethical approvals,
securing of funds for development and setting up of clinical trials. If
evaluated to deliver value, the solution would be supported by IHiS and public
healthcare institutions to scale across the relevant healthcare sector.The Challenge
starts in March and the final shortlist session is expected to be conducted in
the third quarter of 2018. More
information on the Challenge can be found at www.ihis.com.sg/nhtchallenge

Singapore Management University (SMU) will also offer a
new second major in Health Economics and Management (HEM) to develop
industry-ready graduates who are equipped with the knowledge and skills
necessary for effective administration and management within the healthcare
sector. Students of HEM will learn areas of studies relating to healthcare
administration, policy, economics, management, operations, and analytics. The
SMU HEM will bring the university’s unique and innovative pedagogy to the
healthcare industry, providing students experiential and work-based learning at
hospitals and other healthcare institutions. The HEM programme will open doors
to meaningful career pathways in the healthcare industry, and is suitable for
anyone with a passion to promote the health and well-being of individuals,
contribute to the saving of lives and graceful ageing of society, while being
empowered with in-demand ICT skills.

Today’s inaugural Health Tech Day is developed in
support of the TechSkills Accelerator, an initiative of SkillsFuture that aims
to accelerate professional development and enhance employability outcomes for
ICT professionals across key economic sectors.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) leads
Singapore’s digital transformation with infocomm media. To do this, IMDA will
develop a dynamic digital economy and a cohesive digital society, driven by an
exceptional infocomm media (ICM) ecosystem – by developing talent,
strengthening business capabilities, and enhancing Singapore’s ICM
infrastructure. IMDA also regulates the telecommunications and media sectors to
safeguard consumer interests while fostering a pro-business environment, and
enhances Singapore’s data protection regime through the Personal Data
Protection Commission.

For more news and information, visit www.imda.gov.sg or follow IMDA on Facebook @IMDAsg and Twitter
@IMDAsg.

IHiS is
a multi-award-winning healthcare IT leader that digitises, connects, and
analyses Singapore’s health ecosystem. Its ultimate aim is to improve the
Singapore population’s health and health administration by integrating
intelligent, highly resilient, and cost effective technologies with process and
people.

IHiS
played a key role in helping all major public healthcare institutions become
amongst the first in Asia Pacific to achieve HIMSS EMRAM Stage 6 and 7,
international benchmarks for advanced technology used in patient care.

Transforming
healthcare through smart technology, IHiS has garnered more than 80 awards for
its innovations. It supports more than 50,000 healthcare users in Singapore’s health ecosystem through the
application of clinical informatics, computer science, data science,
mechatronics, standards based IT that enables information exchange and cross
boundary workflows, analysis, statistical and machine learning techniques to
discover insights.

For
more information, visit us at www.ihis.com.sg, connect with
us on  Facebook and follow us
on LinkedIn to learn more about the latest healthcare IT news.

The TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) is a tripartite
initiative between the government, industry and the National Trades Union
Congress (NTUC), to build and develop a skilled Information and Communications
Technology (ICT) workforce for the Singapore economy, and to enhance
employability outcomes for individuals.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), which
drives TeSA for ICT professional development, takes an integrated approach to
ICT skills acquisition and practitioner training – in core ICT skills and in
sector-specific ICT skills – and enhance employability outcomes through place
and train programmes, and career advisory services. Since April 2016, over
27,000 training places have been taken up or committed.