IHH Healthcare unveils S$5 million programme to fund healthcare research and pilot projects

Integrated healthcare provider IHH Healthcare on Friday (Jun 27) announced the launch of a S$5 million programme to fund clinical research and pilot projects across its network.

Funds under the Research Grant & Innovation Sandbox programme will be disbursed over five years, empowering IHH clinicians and employees to pursue clinical research and to pilot ground-up initiatives addressing critical health issues.

The group said that the fund has “potential to grow further”, depending on the strength of proposals and interest level.

The programme’s first grant call was held in March and focused on oncology and chronic diseases, which Dr Prem Kumar Nair, group chief executive officer of IHH Healthcare, described as “two of the most urgent and complex challenges facing healthcare today”.

Out of 55 submissions received, a grant governance committee comprising senior management and domain experts from IHH shortlisted seven research grant projects and eight innovation sandbox applications.

The shortlisted submissions include one project from IHH’s Singapore market, four from its Malaysia market, nine from its India market and one from its Hong Kong market.

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Among these are a study that aims to enhance healthcare delivery for Type 2 diabetes patients at Gleneagles Hospital in Penang, a project related to kidney failure at Pantai Hospital in Kuala Lumpur and a project focusing on an artificial intelligence-powered health application for continuous chronic disease monitoring in Singapore.

Projects under the programme’s clinical research track are expected to be completed within one year or up to a maximum of two years for “complex cases”, IHH said. Their findings and outcomes are to be published to contribute to wider healthcare literature on oncology and chronic diseases.

Meanwhile, projects under the innovation sandbox track will prioritise ideas that demonstrate “clear impact”, such as scalability across IHH’s markets, cost savings, improved patient outcomes and better patient experiences, the group said.

IHH will open its next call for submissions in September.

Shares of IHH closed on Thursday 2 per cent or S$0.04 higher at S$2.03.