Tan Tock Seng Hospital signs partnerships to bring robotic rehab to communities

Singaporean public tertiary hospital Tan Tock Seng Hospital, through its Clinic for Advanced Rehabilitation Therapeutics (CART), has entered into partnerships to expand access to robotic rehabilitation services.

One of the deals is a three-year master research collaboration with tech provider Fourier Intelligence (FI), which intends to make robotic therapies "more sustainable and accessible" to patients in communities.

The collaboration includes the use of FI's balance robot BalanceMotus which can digitally track a patient's balancing ability and calculate their fall risk, moving away from a time-consuming, manual process. The partners also plan to optimise such robotic tech on the premises of TTSH's community care partners.

CART also teamed up with the non-profit organisation Stroke Support Station (S3), which provides assistive technology for patient rehabilitation. The partnership allows TTSH to refer stabilised stroke patients to S3 for continued active rehabilitation, wellness activities, and access to its peer support network. They will also explore telecollaboration and teleconsultation services.

In the future, CART looks to extend service collaborations, as well as build an ecosystem of clinicians, therapists and researchers who will design and co-develop new technologies, test-bed, and validate new devices.

Manulife Hong Kong launches telehealth service initiative for seniors

Manulife Hong Kong has teamed up with social service agency Christian Family Service Centre (CFSC) to provide teleconsultation services to the city's single seniors and elder couples with limited family support amid an ongoing fifth wave of coronavirus infections.

The financial services company noted that Hong Kong seniors have received less attention for their medical needs and mental well-being during the fifth COVID-19 wave. Aside from that, many of them are still unvaccinated and thus are more susceptible to contracting COVID-19.

According to a press release, the Manulife Health Resilience Program for the Elderly, which will begin next month May until April next year, will "help seniors to build resilience and provide them with healthcare support tailored to their needs during the pandemic".

In its first phase, the programme will provide around 1,000 online medical consultations, focusing on the districts of Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin where there is a high concentration of seniors.

A team of volunteers will help senior beneficiaries connect with doctors from CFSC's network at home via digital communication tools. They will also help deliver their prescription medicines to their doors.

NHA releases nurse module on ABDM's Health Professional Registry

Nurses across India can now enrol themselves on the Health Professional Registry, one of the building blocks of the government's Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.  

HPR is a comprehensive repository of all healthcare professionals across modern and traditional medicine systems in the country. The registry enables them to become part of a national digital health ecosystem where they can connect with patients.  

It also provides them with a unique identity, online presence and discoverability, as well as access to telemedicine and unified digital services.

The release of the nurse's module on HPR follows the recent launch of the module for doctors on the registry. 

Soon, the NHA will add more categories of health professionals to the HPR, including para-medicals, grass root-level community health workers, medical support staff, and allied healthcare professionals.

Recently, the NHA has extended an invitation to local health IT companies to help develop digital health solutions that will become part of the country's digital health ecosystem. This includes the development of a Unified Health Interface, Health Claims Platform, and SaaS and open-source solutions.

Omron Healthcare India names new managing director

Omron Healthcare India has appointed Kotaro Suzuki as its new managing director.

Suzuki had held a number of senior leadership roles, including in the areas of domestic and overseas sales, corporate strategy planning, and product planning, over his 25 years of service to Omron's healthcare business.

Frans Velkers, COO of Omron Healthcare Singapore, has expressed confidence that Suzuki will help strengthen the company's growth and footprints in India, which plays a significant role in the expansion plan of Omron Healthcare APAC. 

He said Suzuki will "lend more traction" to the company's objective of "going for zero" – minimising the occurrence of cardiovascular, respiratory, and pain events through preventive care – as well as lead to deepening its ties with customers and stakeholders.

Commenting on his appointment, Suzuki said he will focus on making Omron an "essential part" of India's preventive healthcare regime. "I am keenly looking forward to accelerating the progress of Omron's Healthcare business in the country while supporting the growth and development of my team members, as well as business partners," he added.