Singapore to host new global health event

SINGAPORE - About 1,500 health-care professionals, local and foreign, will gather in Singapore in August to exchange ideas and information about innovations and best practices.

The three-day inaugural event will also feature an exhibition showcasing more than 200 health-care innovations and services.

They range from medical equipment and supplies to information technology such as biometrics and data storage.

Singapore International Healthcare Week will be held at Marina Bay Sands from Aug 19 to 21.

Congresses on health-care management, enterprise risk management and supply chain management, as well as a summit on food services in health care, will be on the calendar, according to a statement from the organisers.

The event is being organised by Sphere Conferences, the conference arm of Singapore Press Holdings, and SingHealth.

Speakers at the event will include industry experts such as Mr Kevin Sowers, president of Duke University Hospital in the United States, and Associate Professor Low Cheng Ooi, the Singapore Health Ministry's chief medical informatics officer.

Mr Tan Jack Thian, SingHealth's group chief operating officer and group chief procurement officer, said rising patient expectations and rapid changes in health care require health-care providers to give better care delivery, embark on academic journeys and form strong collaborations with partners locally and internationally.

Sphere chairman Chua Wee Phong feels the event "will further reinforce and elevate Singapore's status as the region's leading medical and heath-care hub".

More information regarding the event can be found at www.sihw.com.sg.

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