In this SGH Hospital of the Future podcast, Associate Professor Goh Su-Yen and Dr Chanda Kendra Ho speak with podcast guest Professor Son Meong Hi, Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO), Samsung Medical Center (SMC). In January 2024, SMC became the first healthcare provider worldwide to achieve Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Quadruple Stage 7 validation — the highest level of digital maturity across four domains — and scored a perfect 400 out of 400 on the Digital Health Indicator.

Professor Son frames SMC's digital transformation around three areas: improving existing work through tools like closed-loop medication safety and the Digital Optimization for Coordinated Care (DOCC) operations platform; reducing non-clinical burden through robotic smart carts that save nurses over 30 minutes per shift; and enabling new care models, such as paediatric social robots and PRISM, a patient-reported outcomes platform with an 85% response rate across 35 departments.

Looking ahead, she sees AI implementation progressing through model performance, process integration, and real-world adoption — with the latter two stages being where most efforts fall short. Meaningful AI impact requires close dialogue between technologists and clinical teams from the outset.

Professor Son recognises that no single hospital has all the answers, making peer exchange between institutions like SMC and Singapore General Hospital (SGH) essential to building the future of healthcare together.

About Professor Son Meong HiProfessor Son Meong Hi is a Paediatrician specialising in Hemato-oncology and Emergency Medicine at SMC. Professor Son is a prominent figure in health informatics and paediatric medicine, known for driving digital transformation within the hospital. She focuses on integrating technology to improve patient care and hospital efficiency, including:

Digital Transformation: Advocating for the role of people in technology adoption and using digital tools to reduce patient waiting times.Innovation: Researching and implementing advanced technologies such as AI, Mixed Reality (MR), and haptic feedback for medical training and safety.Smart Healthcare: Envisioning next-generation hospitals that use digital tools to fill infrastructure gaps and maintain innovation momentum.

About SGH Hospital of the Future Podcast HostsAssociate Professor Goh Su-Yen is Senior Consultant, Endocrinology at SGH, Head and Senior Consultant, SingHealth Duke-NUS Diabetes Centre, and Group Director, Innovation and Transformation, SingHealth, with an interest in innovation and transformation.

Dr Chanda Kendra Ho is currently a Senior Consultant, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at SGH. Her clinical area of expertise is in transplant hepatology. Dr Ho completed her undergraduate studies at Harvard University. After medical school at the University of Tennessee, she was trained at Washington University in St. Louis/Barnes Jewish Hospital for internal medicine residency.

Dr Ho is passionate about process and systems improvement and leveraging technology to improve patient outcomes and population health. She believes in a patient-centered approach in her practice and strongly advocates for her patients. She maintains board certifications in gastroenterology, transplant hepatology, and clinical informatics.

SGH Hospital of the Future Podcast is also available on:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5XuXifizabpKU4rzTyL3e9Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sgh-hospital-of-the-future/id1817347118

Find out more about the podcast series at https://www.sgh.com.sg/about-sgh/news/hospital-of-the-future

#SingaporeGeneralHospital website: www.sgh.com.sg

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