Prof Chua Hong Choon is Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer (Clinical) of the National Healthcare Group.

A psychiatrist by training, Prof Chua is also the Chairman of the national Residency Advisory Committee for Psychiatry, and Adjunct Associate Professor at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Yong Loo Lin Medical School and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. 

Prof Chua has keen interests in the fields of public health, psychiatric epidemiology, depression, and quality and safety in health care. He was the first Patient Safety Officer at IMH, where he developed programmes and initiatives to improve clinical quality and safeguard patient safety in mental healthcare. 

Presentation Synopsis
Relationships
In order to meet the healthcare needs of an ageing population with increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, we must evolve from a transactional system of care to a relationship based one. To keep future generations of Singaporeans healthy and anticipate their healthcare needs, we need to establish new relationships with individuals and communities who are not the traditional patients of a healthcare system. 

The transformation of our healthcare system requires us to re-examine the relationships we have with our patients and the population we serve. Developing these relationships is not without risks and challenges, but if successfully achieved, will help us transform our system to meet the present and future healthcare needs of our population. How should we go about creating new relationships with our patients and their caregivers? How do we engage the general population? And finally, how do we strengthen existing relationships?