Prof Wong completed medical school at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He obtained a MPH and PhD from the Johns Hopkins University, USA and received his clinical residency training in ophthalmology at the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC). Prof Wong is currently the Medical Director of the SNEC, and was previously Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at NUS and Chair of the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Prof Wong has published >1,300 peer-reviewed papers (h-index of 148, 2018 Highly Cited Researcher). He has given >400 invited named, plenary, and symposium lectures globally, and received >US$50 million in grant funding. He is a two-times recipient of the Singapore Translational Researcher (STaR) Award (2008 and 2014). He is a Board member of the International Council of Ophthalmology, the Academy of Medicine Singapore, the Singapore Medical Council, and the National Medical Research Council Singapore. For his contributions, Prof Wong has been recognized with the Australian Commonwealth Health Minister’s Award, the Arnall Patz Medal from the Macula Society, the Alcon Research Institute Award and others. He has received the National Outstanding Clinician Scientist Award, the President’s Science Award (2010), and the President’s Science and Technology Award (2014), the highest awards for healthcare and scientific contribution in Singapore.

Presentation Synopsis
Implementation of AI and Digital Innovations in Healthcare: Reflections and Pearls in Management

Artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital technology has vast potential to impact on healthcare. However, the adoption of AI and digital technology has been slow in healthcare settings. This is related to complex interaction of technical and non-technical factors. For example, many AI and digital technology has been narrowly tested in highly experimental “lab settings” and not validated in “real-world” clinical settings in local patient populations, making it hard to understand the impact and relevance of such technology. Non-technical factors (e.g., patient and physician acceptance, data security and medico-legal risks, government funding and reimbursement) also impede the adoption and scaling of such technology in healthcare. This talk will share the two decade long journey on the development and scaling of a national telemedicine-based screening program in diabetic retinopathy, a blinding eye disease in diabetes and the challenge of integration and deployment of an AI algorithm (SELENA+) into this telemedicine program. Understanding the issues and challenges are critical for healthcare policy makers, healthcare leaders and program managers to implement AI and other digital solutions in healthcare settings.