JP/17/SING1

Telemedicine technology benefits overseas patients ______________________________________________________________________

The newly-established one-stop medical center Excellence Healthcare (EH), recently invited a group of Indonesian journalists including The Jakarta Post's Rita A. Widiadana to visit its establishment in Singapore. Organized by APCO Indonesia, the visit was aimed at learning about the center's medical services and its advanced medical equipment. The Post talked to medical director Dr. Albert Chan in the following report. _____________________________________________________________________

Noted cardiologist Dr.Albert Chan is examining his Indonesian patient from his cozy, well-equipped office at the EH medical center on the 15th floor of the Camden building at the famous Orchard Boulevard in Singapore.

His patient sits thousands of miles away at EH's sister clinic in Jakarta. How could that be possible? It is, thanks to the rapid progress of medical technology.

Through the use of ISDN connections, videoconferencing and an electronic stethoscope, Dr. Chan is regularly has consultations with his Indonesian patients and their doctors in Jakarta.

The International Medical Specialist Clinic, EH's sister clinic in Jakarta, has the listening part of the electronic stethoscope, and the Singaporean doctor wears the earpiece. The sound of the patient's heartbeat will be converted into digital format and transmitted via a dedicated ISDN line to Singapore, where the data is converted back to sound.

The electronic stethoscope will allow doctors in Singapore to listen to their overseas patients' heartbeats and lungs, while the local doctors administers the devices

With the new technologies, Dr. Chan and other doctors at EH are now able to diagnose their overseas patients using a technology called telemedicine.

The patient is thus examined by both his local doctor at EH sister clinic in Jakarta as well as the Singapore-based doctors.

"Telemedicine helps reduce the time and effort it takes for foreign patients to receive medical care in Singapore, "explained Dr. Chan, EH medical director recently at his office. Pre- diagnosis or diagnostic plans can be draw up even before the patient sets foot in Singapore, he added.

Singapore has long been renowned as a medical haven for Indonesia's wealthy elite. Numerous private clinics, as well as government and private hospitals in Singapore, have been offering their healthcare to cure sick and well-to-do Indonesians.

Many sources at the country's hospitals and medical centers claimed to take care of 40 percent to 50 percent of Indonesian patients annually.

Rather than spending hours queuing at an Indonesian hospital, the wealthy can opt for a one-and-a-half-hour flight to Singapore for regular checkups, heart or cancer examinations or cosmetic surgery. Some even fly to Singapore just to get a flu shot.

"Indonesia, with its huge population, has great potential for most healthcare providers in Singapore. Each tries to offer its best services," Dr.Chan said.

EH, however, is the newest multidisciplinary private medical center in Singapore and the first clinic in Asia to offer telemedicine.

"We are offering the first quality and American standard medical care with lower expenses," he said.

He added that when Indonesians or other overseas patients visited Singapore many had to shop around first for doctors and hospitals. Most had no idea of where to go and whom to consult. "It really takes time, energy and most of all, a lot of extra expense," he noted.

By having a sister clinic in Jakarta, Indonesian patients can save a lot more time and money. Prediagnostic examination is carried out by Jakarta's doctors on patients who have already communicated with their Singaporean doctors.

"We are also able to estimate the cost and time of the treatment for their patients. We try to cut unnecessary costs by eliminating unnecessary examinations that many healthcare establishments require their patients to undergo," he said

Post-treatment is also more convenient for overseas patients. For example, those undergoing bypass surgery can save the cost of a few weeks' stay in Singapore.

"We can send back our patients back to Indonesia earlier because our sister clinic there can help with managing patients and we can follow up using telemedicine. Patients and their families don't have to stay in Singapore for follow-up examinations," he added.

"We plan to open new sister clinics in Surabaya and Bali very soon to cater for patients in eastern Indonesia," Dr Chan said.

EH is the first clinic in Asia with the capability to perform LASIK (laser in-situ keratomileusis) surgery to correct age- induced presbyopia (reduction in the eyes' ability to focus properly) with the revolutionary NAVEX system and Nidek EC5000CXII laser system. A full spectrum of LASIK services that address a range of eye conditions is offered.

By employing high-tech and advanced medical equipment, the doctors are able to detect any possible diseases, especially heart-related diseases and various forms of cancer as early as possible so that the treatments are much easier than if we found them at later stages, the doctor noted.

"Preventive action and early treatment can save so many lives," he concluded.