Singapore – The Asian Healthcare Leadership Summit (AHLS) 2018 was held from 21 to 22 September at Resorts World Sentosa Singapore. Organised by the idsMED Group, the Summit is Asia’s premier thought leadership, experiential and networking healthcare event. Themed “Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Disruption in Healthcare,” the Summit is now in its third edition, following the success of the preceding summits of 2015 and 2016.

The rise of the digital economy has had a profound effect across industries, eliciting varying degrees of adaptation and change as industry leaders respond to new developments and challenges. As novel technologies continue to be developed, there is a need for the healthcare industry to adapt as a host of potential medical applications will inevitably emerge. In response, healthcare leaders must be conscious of and prepared for the disruptions that result from technological progress. With this, the healthcare industry must evolve with the times in order to take advantage of new technologies, as an increasingly tech-savvy population demands better and more responsive healthcare.

Mr. Ben Chang, Group CEO and Founding Partner of idsMED Group, opened the Summit with a welcome speech to a 500-strong audience comprising of medical experts and healthcare leaders from all over the world. He stated, “What is needed for healthcare today is a paradigm shift and a move from the traditional medical model of healthcare to a new model that will transform the care of the world's population.  The objective of the Summit is to provide the very best of healthcare education and strategic insights, domain intelligence, programs and initiatives, delivered through stimulating presentations, knowledge exchange and business networking”.

The shift from a reactive, fragmented and intermittent system to a proactive, connected and continuous model is seen in the move towards digitizing, a focus on holistic wellness and the forming of a “One Belt One Road Universal Healthcare Alliance”.  Exemplifying a fresh approach to healthcare, Dr. Victor Fung, Group Chairman of the Fung Group, proposed the idea of this new global framework to fit the purpose of today’s fast-moving and highly-connected digitized global economy. In particular, he proposed positioning healthcare as the fundamental building block to attain the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda through Goal number 3, which promotes healthy lives and wellbeing for all ages.

Dr. Fung noted, “We need a new multilateral system based on a new global social contract that addresses the most fundamental aspect of inequality and allows access to affordable healthcare for all. This requires global cooperation and we should consider the idea of forming an alliance, perhaps starting along the Belt and Road countries.”

At this year’s Summit, a recurring theme was that of embracing technological disruption to provide better healthcare for the future. Under this new framework, the production and dissemination of knowledge is democratised, creating a future where innovation will come from the many, instead of an elite few. Valuing innovation, technology, and a global cooperative effort, this new model of healthcare will signal a departure from traditional approaches in which a select few had a monopoly on knowledge and innovation.

In addition to the Speakers’ program, AHLS 2018 held a dedicated Entrepreneurship and Innovation session which featured an eclectic mix of entrepreneurs and their disruptive products and services. A total of 12 entrepreneurs from around the world were invited to represent innovations to address crucial challenges facing the healthcare industry. They were part of 4 tracks on Day 1 of the Summit on 21 September, which focused on Technological Advancement for Medical Insights, Innovative Services tackling Healthcare Challenges, Progressive Solutions ensuring Healthcare Availability and Customized Solutions serving Large-scale Problems.

The event was attended by more than 500 worldwide participants from the industry including leading medical practitioners, policy makers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, academics and thought leaders from across the globe.