SINGAPORE – When Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat was recovering from a stroke in 2016, his therapists got creative with his rehabilitation.
“For instance, I received many get-well cards from Singaporeans, and therapists pasted the cards on the wall to encourage me to stand up and look at them. As I got a little better, they got higher and higher,” Mr Heng said, recounting how rehabilitation services had helped him make a full recovery.
Speaking during the opening of RehabWeek 2023, a week-long conference on rehabilitative technology held at the Resorts World Convention Centre in Sentosa, he said the demand for such services is growing worldwide as people live longer and the incidence of chronic disease and disabilities is set to increase.
Globally, the World Health Organisation estimates that around 2.4 billion people, or one in three people, are living with a health condition that may benefit from rehabilitation.
From Sunday to Thursday, about 1,000 local and international visitors comprising medical experts, engineers and entrepreneurs are expected to attend the event, which is being held in Singapore for the first time.
Singapore also marks the 50th anniversary of rehabilitation medicine in the country in 2023, after Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) established the first dedicated rehabilitation medicine service here in 1973.
Rehabilitation is growing more interdisciplinary in its practice and offerings, drawing from technological trends such as robotics and digitalisation to innovate and achieve better outcomes for patients, said Mr Heng.
He added: “Today, robotics-assisted physiotherapy and games-based cognitive exercises have become more common. Technology-enriched rehabilitation can provide ‘precision rehab’ – developing unique and customised plans for every patient. We have also developed new capabilities in virtual rehabilitation as a result of Covid-19. This has increased convenience for patients, and empowered them to take charge of their rehabilitation journey at home.”
While innovations are making rehabilitation more effective, it is also important to organise services in a way that is more accessible and convenient for patients, so they are most likely to follow through and reap the full benefits of rehabilitation, he said.
One way Singapore is making moves in that direction is the nationwide implementation of the One-Rehab Framework, where a patient’s rehabilitation journey, across different settings and with different members of a care team, is tracked using a common IT portal.
Associate Professor Loh Yong Joo, head and senior consultant at TTSH’s department of rehabilitation medicine, said that the National Healthcare Group is working on a separate initiative. It is consolidating different apps, so that those who need rehabilitation services, like patients with stroke, Parkinson’s or heart failure, can access the services on the NHG Cares app.
“The app itself will also have care transactions, like when they need to go to a clinic for appointments. So it’s all in one, and there’s no need for patients to access another app separately,” said Prof Loh, adding that the project will take about two to three years to complete.
Mr Heng said: “Rehabilitation offers the uplifting prospect of enabling every person to live well and maximise their potential. In turn, this keeps society vibrant. We must therefore do our best to collaborate, innovate, and deliver well.”
Advanced rehabilitation technology exhibited at the conference include H-Man, a portable arm rehabilitation robot designed to help stroke patients regain upper limb mobility; and the Mobile Robotic Balance Assistant, which helps users in various activities like walking, exercise and activities of daily living.
Conference participants will be able to take part in an investor forum, scientific programmes and global workshops, as well as listen to keynote speakers who are experts in their fields.
There will also be laboratory visits to institutions such as Jurong Community Hospital, Rehabilitation Research Institute of Singapore, TTSH’s Clinic for Advanced Rehabilitation Therapeutics, and United Medicare Centre.
