Showcase of telecommunications-related health services at conference

A monitoring system that allows doctors to continuously keep tabs on aged patients without having the patients to come to their clinics will be highlighted at this year's Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Asia Pacific Conference.

The conference began on Monday morning and ends on Wednesday.

A spokesman for the Agency for Science, Technology and Research said on Monday that telehealth - the delivery of health-related services and information via telecommunications technologiess - is poised to be the next big thing in healthcare.

This is because of the "tremendous strain faced by the health system from rapid population growth, an ageing population and an explosion in chronic diseases".