(Ongoing) Implementation and outcomes of a telehealth centre in a tertiary hospital (THINK)

Age Well SG strand: Strengthen support for seniors with care needs in the community

Principal Investigator: Dr Tew Chee Wee (Visiting Consultant, GERI and Senior Consultant, Geriatric Medicine, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH))

Collaborating Organisation(s): KTPH, Singapore Clinical Research Institute, St Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto

Gap: Against the backdrop of a rapidly ageing population, hospitals are seeing more elderly patients with more complex conditions, which contributes to the hospital capacity crunch.

Planned Solution: Telehealth support, where nurses and telecare officers support patients’ transition back home, can potentially reduce readmission rates and free up capacity for more urgent cases. GERI is evaluating the implementation of the telehealth support centre at KTPH to identify the barriers and facilitators of implementation, and its effectiveness in terms of patient outcomes, resource utilisation and cost benefit.

Anticipated Impact: Study findings could support efforts to optimise, scale and sustain telehealth use as an enabler of care provision across care settings, while informing policymakers on health service planning and policy formulation in establishing telehealth services. Findings have been presented at the 11th Asian Conference on Aging & Gerontology 2025, with plans for dissemination through upcoming journal publications, conferences and presentations to government and government-affiliated agencies.

Duration: Apr 2023 to Mar 2026