04 August 2006
NUS Launches New Centre with RAND Health
In line with the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) mission to develop high impact research and education in service of the country, the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine is pleased to announce its collaboration with internationally renowned “think tank”, the RAND Corporation, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Singapore Health Services, and the National Healthcare Group to accelerate the development and implementation of health services research in Singapore.
The RAND Corporation, established since 1948, is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decision making through research and analysis. For nearly 60 years, decision makers in the public and private sectors have turned to the RAND Corporation for objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the United States and the world. RAND Health, a division of the RAND Corporation, is dedicated to advancing the understanding of health and health behaviours, and examining public health policy and how the organisation and financing of care affect costs, quality, and access.
The Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine of NUS will be working with RAND Health to establish the NUS Centre for Health Services Research as a national resource to develop the research and education programmes on which high quality, credible data are generated for healthcare providers and policy makers in Singapore and the region.
NUS is the first academic institution in Asia to team up with RAND Health to develop a health services research centre.
The Need for Health Services Research in Singapore
Singapore is proud to have excellent affordable healthcare which is accessible to all its citizens. However it is important to be cognisant of the challenges that the system faces as the population ages, as chronic complex diseases such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes become the major contributors to morbidity and mortality, and as concerns mount about the cost of medical care.
Health services research aims to identify the most effective ways to organise, manage, finance, and deliver high quality care; reduce medical errors; and improve patient safety. Researchers examine how people get access to healthcare, how much this care costs, and what happens to patients as a result of this care.
The real success of health services research is when the scientific evidence is transformed into thoughtful policies to guide practice and encourage participation. For instance, findings of a 2003 landmark RAND study on care in ambulatory settings in the US have been incorporated into performance improvement programmes to encourage healthcare providers to close the gap between actual and ideal performance.
NUS Centre for Health Services Research
This Centre aims to promote academic expertise in health services research and serve as a central resource centre in Singapore and the region; assist healthcare policy makers through robust research and scientific data collection; and develop research projects in collaboration with various stakeholders including the Ministry of Health and the public healthcare clusters to address the challenges that they face.
Researchers from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and RAND Health will be examining several topics including quality of care; cost-effectiveness and healthcare-related costs; patient experiences with the healthcare system; health policy research; and behavioral interventions and health promotions.
One of the Centre’s first projects will be a systematic assessment of the research needs and health care issues that are of concern to Singapore. The Ministry of Health, National Healthcare Group and Singapore Health Services will be taking part in this project.
“This collaboration between NUS and RAND in health services research is a part of the School of Medicine’s mission to develop research and education programmes that provide solutions to Singapore’s healthcare problems. We are delighted and honoured that RAND Health is working with us to establish this Centre, as it is through these collaborations with world leading organisations that NUS re-enforces its culture of excellence, said Professor John Wong, Vice President (Research / Life Sciences) and Dean, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS.
“RAND enthusiastically welcomes this opportunity to work with NUS and other colleagues in Singapore to strengthen excellence in health services research. With good reason, healthcare leaders worldwide look with great admiration to Singapore as a model for delivering high quality care at a reasonable cost,” said Professor Lee Hilborne, Associate Director of the Global Health Programme, RAND Health.
Professor Hilborne added, “Consistent with that global reputation, Singapore's healthcare leaders are taking this visionary step to ensure both the continued success of Singapore's health system and anticipate the inevitable changes that face healthcare in the future. The partnership between NUS and RAND will positively influence health care decisions for the citizens of Singapore, expand Singapore's capacity to conduct health services research, and position Singapore as a recognised health services research leader in Southeast Asia and beyond.”
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