Approach to improve the health of the entire population in Singapore
At the Committee of Supply 2022, Minister for Health, Mr Ong Ye Kung, announced the details of Healthier SG, which is MOH’s strategy in championing the national shift towards a population health approach.
Learn more at the Ministry of Health website.
Healthier SG is a “major reform of the healthcare system” and encompassed under Population Health.
Population Health is an approach adopted by many countries, which aims to improve physical and mental health outcomes, promote wellbeing and reduce health inequalities across an entire population. It focuses on the wider determinants of health and activating people and empowering communities.
Population Health takes a life course approach with tailored strategies with segmented interventions. Singaporeans’ health outcomes will be addressed from birth and throughout their life. Population Health will potentially aid to tackle the challenges faced by Singapore’s Healthcare system including an ageing population, increasing chronic disease burden and rising healthcare costs.
AIC continues to serve as the Heart of Care with Population Health
AIC’s vision and mission is to build a vibrant care community focusing on health and wellbeing, enabling our people to live well and age gracefully. The shift towards a Population Health approach to become a “Healthier SG” will enable us to achieve our vision and mission to better meet the needs of our clients and reduce the gaps in care on the ground.
Building on AIC’s role as the appointed agency for the administration of national schemes
AIC is the appointed agency for the administration of national schemes such as the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) and Merdeka Generation (MG) package. We will continue to work closely with the community partners to ensure residents will receive care services when required.
AIC’s Silver Generation Office (SGO) together with a strong pool of Silver Generation Ambassadors (SGAs) had been appointed to engage our Pioneer Generation (PG) and MG seniors on the benefits of the PG and MG package when receiving subsidies for their treatment and services at participating CHAS clinics in the neighbourhood. Increasingly, with population health, SGO aims to move upstream in identifying the needs of the seniors early through its preventive health visits initiative. Our SGAs will continue to play a vital role as the lay extenders of health, conducting visits to seniors’ homes to sense and pick up health and social risks so as to prevent or delay deterioration.
Building networks of collaboration among providers in the community
AIC works closely with the community and service providers to ensure that seniors are well taken care of, by building holistic wrap-around care in the community.
A Community of Care (CoC) is an overarching framework to build local networks of collaboration among providers, and to deliver holistic health and social care for residents in their neighbourhood. It places the resident in the centre of the community care ecosystem so that better support is provided to help them age in place.
Within the CoC, the dedicated network of partners come together to provide holistic services for the residents. A successful CoC will allow for residents to age in place within their neighbourhoods, feel supported and maintain a high level of participation in the management of their own health.
AIC continues to build and ensure that care and services in the community remain available and relevant for the seniors in their community.
Forging Ahead
Healthier SG is a journey. AIC will continue to foster partnerships with our community partners, continue to serve as the heart of care and ensure the community remains a vibrant one for seniors.