Shaping the future of Allied Health & Pharmacy
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Some visuals in this article were generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for illustrative purposes.
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While many of these transformations will take time to fully actualise, Allied Health & Pharmacy (AH&P) professionals across National University Health System (NUHS) are already laying the foundations for what care could look like in 2030 and beyond.
Advancing practice
At NUHS, AH&P professionals are taking on expanded responsibilities through advanced practice and AH&P-led clinics, helping patients access specialised expertise sooner and more directly.
In some services, suitable patients are now able to access specialised AH&P expertise directly, without first navigating multiple appointments or referral pathways. This allows patients to receive timely assessments, interventions and follow-up care from the professional best placed to support their needs.
“The right expertise should be accessible at the right time, in the right setting.”
– Dr Golda Wang, Senior Principal Clinical Pharmacist, Alexandra Hospital (AH)
For Dr Golda Wang, this principle is evident in her work on chronic disease management, patient outreach and education.
Her pharmacist-led outreach programmes have reduced emergency department visits and readmissions, while a culturally responsive Ramadan diabetes education programme she developed has since expanded across multiple NUHS institutions.
Together, these initiatives demonstrate how specialised expertise can be brought closer to patients and communities, improving access to care while supporting better continuity and outcomes.
Advancing clinical precision
As healthcare becomes increasingly data-driven, AH&P professionals are combining scientific expertise, digital capabilities and data-informed insights to advance patient care.
Today's laboratory systems generate vast amounts of information. The challenge is no longer collecting data, but interpreting it meaningfully and translating it into better clinical decisions.
“By 2030, advances in AI, automation and precision medicine will transform how research and diagnostic testing are conducted, allowing us to generate insights more efficiently and accurately.”
– Dr Sharon Saw, Principal Scientific Officer, National University Hospital (NUH)
For more than three decades, Dr Sharon Saw has helped build many of the foundations that modern laboratory medicine relies upon today.
From laboratory automation and digital systems to precision diagnostics and data integration, her work reflects how healthcare is evolving beyond simply generating information to extracting meaningful insights from it.
Digitalisation now helps teams interpret complex datasets, identify patterns and generate insights that can predict risk and enable more precise decisions.
“Such an end-to-end automated laboratory was viewed as a vision of the future. Today, it is an achievable reality,” Dr Saw said.
As healthcare becomes more sophisticated, AH&P professionals will increasingly need to combine scientific rigour, digital literacy and critical thinking to turn information into insight, and insight into better care.
Augmenting care with AI
Technology is transforming healthcare, but its greatest value lies in what it enables people to do. As AI, automation and digital platforms become more common, AH&P professionals can spend less time on routine processes and more time applying professional judgement where it matters most.
The NUHS Cluster AI Pharmacy Platform, comprising MedRecon, MedTriage and MedVerify, explores how technology can automate repetitive tasks, summarise information and escalate issues for professional review.
“Through adoption of AI tools that are integrated with clinical practice, we refocus our time on what matters most.”
– Mr Tan Chwee Huat, Consultant Pharmacist, AH
The goal is not simply greater efficiency. It is creating more room for meaningful patient care, problem-solving and multidisciplinary collaboration.
By taking repetitive, manual work off their hands, informatics and automation can streamline time-consuming processes while reducing the risk of errors.
The impact can be significant. Mr Tan helped implement a closed-loop medication management system that reduced medication incidents by more than 80 per cent. At the same time, it streamlined how medications are ordered, reviewed and administered, making the process safer and more efficient.
Connecting with patients
Patients do not experience healthcare as hospitals, clinics, homes and communities. They experience it as a single journey. As care increasingly spans these settings, AH&P professionals will need new ways to stay connected to patients throughout that journey.
Emerging technologies such as remote monitoring, dietary tracking applications and connected health platforms are creating opportunities to identify concerns earlier and support patients beyond traditional clinical settings.
“Remote monitoring allows us to follow patients beyond the hospital and into their homes.”
– Ms Chong Shu Han, Senior Dietitian, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH)
For Ms Chong Shu Han, these developments point towards a future where AH&P care becomes more proactive, personalised and connected throughout the patient journey.
Today, technology is enabling dietitians to monitor patients’ nutrition both in hospital and at home. Continuous glucose monitoring, dietary tracking apps and remote monitoring provide a clearer view of daily habits and support more personalised nutrition education, helping to identify changes that may require attention during follow-up.
The future workplace will not be defined by a building, but by the ability to remain connected to patients wherever they are.
Connecting patients to care
Through virtual-first pathways, digital screening and smarter triage, patients can be connected to the right level of support sooner, while specialist expertise is focused where it adds the greatest value.
New models of care are emerging. Digital triaging, Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and redesigned workforce models will allow patients to receive the right support earlier.
“The most important thing is ensuring patients receive the right level of care at the right time.”
– Ms Toh Hui Moon, Principal Psychologist, National University Polyclinics (NUP)
For Ms Toh, introducing new workforce models and smarter pathways has helped improve access to mental healthcare.
As part of a stepped-care approach, Associate Psychologists take on suitable cases, supported by improved screening and triage systems. This allows psychologists to focus their time on patients who require more specialised care. The model has saved 30 to 47 per cent of psychologists' time since its adoption.
For Ms Toh, the work does not stop at redesigning today's workflows. Looking ahead, she is thinking about what psychologists, and the wider healthcare workforce, will need to make mental healthcare more sustainable.
“The future psychologist will need to be both a clinician and a systems thinker,” Ms Toh added.
Leading today, tomorrow
Today's healthcare systems were not forged overnight. They were built through years of innovation, experimentation and continuous improvement.
For Ms Zhou Yuheng, the future can be seen in how a profession evolves. What was once primarily a technical role now requires specialised expertise, advanced clinical judgement, service innovation, education and multidisciplinary collaboration.
“We are moving from diagnostic specialists who support clinical decisions to professionals who actively inform clinicians.”
– Ms Zhou Yuheng, Principal Vascular Technologist, NTFGH
Innovations such as Pedal Acceleration Time protocols, ultrasound-guided vascular procedures and advanced physiological testing help clinicians make earlier and more informed treatment decisions.
As AH&P professions continue to evolve, the future will increasingly be shaped by professionals who not only adapt to change but help drive it.
Shaping 2030 & beyond
The AH&P Vision 2030 encapsulates new roles, new skills, new tools, new workplaces and new ways of working. While some of these transformations are still emerging, others are already reshaping how care is delivered across NUHS.
Together, they offer a glimpse of a future where care is more connected, personalised and proactive. A future built not by a single profession, but by many professionals working together to improve outcomes for patients.
In consultation with Tan Chwee Huat, Consultant Pharmacist, AH; Dr Golda Wang, Senior Principal Clinical Pharmacist, AH; Toh Hui Moon, Principal Psychologist, NUP; Dr Sharon Saw, Principal Scientific Officer, NUH; Zhou Yuheng, Principal Vascular Technologist, NTFGH; and Chong Shu Han, Senior Dietitian, NTFGH.
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