SINGAPORE - Future health challenges are set to become more complex, where technical solutions such as new drugs and therapeutics will no longer be sufficient.

Instead, future leaders will need to also contend with social problems, cultural and behavioural issues, economic pressures, and political challenges, said a panel discussing issues around health after the pandemic, at the Nobel Prize Dialogue 2022 on Tuesday.

Technology will play a large role in tackling these challenges, said Singapore's director of medical services Kenneth Mak, one of the panellists.

Associate Professor Mak said technology can be used in multiple ways, for instance, as a form of care substitution, especially in certain areas that face manpower challenges. It is also vital in precision health, where treatments are individualised to create better patient outcomes.

Finally, the use of technology has also made data become highly visible, transferable and portable, and allows rich opportunities for this data to be analysed and fresh new insights brought to how healthcare can be delivered, Prof Mak said.

These include using data to identify risk groups that the authorities want to prioritise for interventions, or identify new screening, diagnosis and treatment strategies.

Also on the panel in the discussion moderated by Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, was physics laureate George Smoot.

The Nobel Prize Dialogue 2022: The Future We Want Together brought laureates, students and other experts together to discuss how people's lives can be improved and a better future built.

Organised by the Nobel Prize Outreach and the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, in partnership with the Asian Medical Students' Association Singapore, the dialogue was held at the Raffles City Convention Centre.