I had the privilege of attending as an invited panel speaker at this year’s SHAPE International Symposium, organized by the Society for Health Administration Programs in Education (SHAPE) and held at James Cook University (JCU) Singapore from 30th June to 2nd July 2025, where I met several good friends from La Trobe University and made new ones from institutions and organizations from the Asia-Pacific region and USA. This year’s symposium brought together a multi-disciplinary group of health management educators, practitioners, and researchers under the theme “Shaping health management practice, education, and research in the ever-changing environment.” This symposium gave me an insight to the field of health services management (HSM) – as Singapore does not specifically have such a profession – but more importantly, highlighted the evolution of this field and how effective health management extends far beyond traditional administrative roles, with the need to have a diverse ecosystem of clinical leaders including nursing managers, allied health professionals, pharmacy managers, and healthcare professionals in leadership positions.

The SHAPE symposium was different from other conferences that I have attended. The cozy, informal approach opened up many interesting conversations involving multicultural and multidisciplinary perspectives, about how healthcare administrators, health service managers and clinicians could transition from manager to leadership roles, and how new competencies could evolve these professions in an increasingly complex healthcare landscape. The themes below from the various speakers speak to the diverse pathways that healthcare managers and leaders would need in the upcoming digital healthcare future.

From Manager to Leader: Developing Future Leaders in Health Services Management

The symposium had a powerful focus on leadership development, recognizing that the healthcare sector requires more than just managers. I particularly liked Professor Neale Fong’s (President, Australasian College of Health Service Managers) message on the need for a collaborative and shared leadership, so that the organization can have a shared ambition and innovate across all levels within. He emphasized that a collaborative culture but distributed responsibility, adaptability and open communication was essential to work towards a shared vision in today’s culture, and as leaders, we should gravitate towards enhancing our skillsets of emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, interdisciplinary learning and multidisciplinary collaborations. Our healthcare systems need visionary leaders who can navigate complexity, inspire teams, and drive transformation in a “Brave New World” (quote from Professor Mary Foley, Western Sydney University) but pun also intended from Marvel Avengers movie of the same name).

Building Leadership Capabilities Across Disciplines

Recognizing the diverse backgrounds of health service managers, the critical importance of developing leadership capabilities and pipelines was emphasized. Effective competency-based leadership development requires systematic approaches that can be contextualized to different healthcare contexts and across multiple countries, while maintaining core competency standards. Culturally responsive approaches that respect local healthcare traditions and practices in various countries are needed. And besides individual capacity building, organizational investments and recognition by relevant professional societies is also crucial in developing healthcare leaders in HSM. My key takeaway was that whether transitioning from nursing, pharmacy, allied health, or other clinical disciplines, future leaders need structured support to develop management competencies while leveraging their clinical expertise.

How Digital Health is Transforming the HSM Landscape

Digital health innovation and transformation emerged as a central theme throughout the symposium. Although there were many interesting discussions, some case studies that caught my attention, with the potential of technology integration in HSM are provided below.

Case Study 1: eHealth Transformation – Professor Mary Foley’s Keynote Presentation

Prof Mary Foley’s keynote presentation explored how eHealth is fundamentally transforming healthcare delivery in the “brave new world”. Aligning with Australia’s National Digital Health Strategy, Prof Foley showcased several real-life case examples of Australia’s MyHealthRecord, the National Cancer Screening Register, Zero Childhood Cancer, and HealthDirect. Her presentation highlighted the possibilities and challenges of digital health implementation in Australia. While digital health promises many advantages, such as automation and predictive diagnosis, early intervention and prevention of chronic diseases, and enhances equitable access to high-quality healthcare, the reality is that healthcare systems are under stress – with structural weaknesses exposed by COVID-19, workforce shortages, and the challenge of balancing automation efficiency with the “humanness” of care. I particularly liked her conclusion adapted from the New York Times on the fact that while healthcare professionals are afraid that AI might replace our jobs, it may actually give our professions many new career opportunities – if we are willing to embrace it!

“A.I. Might Take Your Job. Here Are 22 New Ones It Could Give You.”

In a few key areas, humans will be more essential than ever.

– New York Times Magazine (17 Jun 2025)

Case Study 2: HSM Workforce Planning and Leadership in the 4th Industrial Revolution

Research by Prof Jason Jiang (La Trobe University), Dr Haiyan He (Guangdong Pharmaceutical University), Ms Sharon Campbell (Curtin University) and Dr Ana Rita Sequeira (Murdoch University) showcased how AI has been used for both healthcare research and in workforce planning, the need for leadership competencies in this 4th industrial revolution, and the introduction of a useful framework (Non-Adoption, Abandonment, Scale-Up, Spread and Sustainability, NASSS) for moving HSM towards an AI-ready workforce. These presentations highlighted the need for targeted approaches for AI-driven workforce planning, but also revealed several challenges in education and implementation (e.g. data scarcity, ethical concerns, and how to more effectively collaborate between man and machine as we move into the 5th industrial revolution).

Case Study 3: Personal Health Index – Innovation in Health Monitoring

Clin Prof Shyam Paryani‘s research on developing a Personal Health Index (PHI) using AI demonstrated the practical use of machine learning (ML) and AI in health monitoring. By focusing on key parameters in athletes (heart status, activity level, BMI, VO2max, and sleep patterns), his research developed an individualized health metric that was personalized to the athlete’s health, bringing a shift in clinical thinking from traditional disease managment to wellness and prevention and demonstrating that for HSM, there is a need to understand health itself to provide cost-effective preventive care.

The Need for Value-Based Care in the Digital Health Era

The need for value-based care (VBC) in this era where digital health technologies are prevalent emerged as both a significant opportunity and a complex challenge, requiring healthcare managers to have new management approaches.

Some of the key elements presented that are essential for sustainable healthcare systems included:

• Funding Model Innovation: A patient’s willingness-to-pay is dependent on their income, perceived value of the service provided, the price of substitutes and convenience in obtaining the healthcare service. Healthcare maangers need to understand and embrace new and innovative funding models in order to provide VBC.
• Outcome Measurement Challenges: The concept of monetary versus non-monetary price tags influencing consumer behavior represents a new dimension for healthcare managers to consider in VBC. The diversity of outcome measures, ranging from patient-reported outcomes to cost savings, highlights the need for standardized approaches to measuring and communicating value to patients.
• Barriers and Facilitators: Insufficient funding, persistence of fee-for-service models, and resistance from healthcare professionals were some of the barriers presented. However, strong leadership, multidisciplinary collaboration, and digital tools served as key facilitators to advance VBC.

The upcoming focus on population health in VBC represents the need for a mindset shift for healthcare managers to consider the following factors:

• Integrate social determinants of health into care planning and resource allocation.
• Leverage digital health technologies for population health monitoring and intervention.
• Navigate complex stakeholder relationships in various healthcare settings (e.g. hospitals versus community, public versus private).
• Develop financial models that are sustainable and align with health outcomes.

The Need to Enhance Digital Competencies in HSM

A key focus of this symposium was on the need for enhancing the digital competencies of healthcare managers. Several presentations showcased the innovative approaches of using AI and Generative AI in HSM education (e.g. administrative support, LLM-driven tutors, adaptive assessments).

Several factors emerged, which I shall summarize:

• AI-based Technology-enhanced Learning: AI-generated content and assessments were well-received by students as these provided better and more personalized learning experiences. These AI-based approaches also helped streamline administrative support mechanisms, thus reducing faculty workload, while offering flexible delivery options.
• Challenges in Implementation: Some of the barriers include lack of awareness and certainty of AI benefits and risks, generational differences between the younger generations who are digital natives and those who are less comfortable with technology, and organizational or infrastructure gaps that may hinder AI implementation.
• Equity and Access: Innovative approaches to HSM education need to be contextualized and also provide opportunities for under-represented communities. Innovation models need to be flexible enough to adapt to the needs of the cultural context and community. Hence, co-design is good way to ensure relevance and stakeholder buy-in.

Towards Sustainable Healthcare: Mental Health and Wellbeing of Healthcare Managers

In line with the United Nations International Day of the Tropics – JCU Singapore’s celebration of Mental Health in the Tropics, ths SHAPE symposium dedicated 1st July 2025 to various presentations dedicated to the mental health and wellbeing of healthcare managers, recognizing this as a fundamental to having a sustainable healthcare system. Get Inspired by the UN’s video trailer!

Mental Health Statistics in Singapore

This session was especially interesting to me as I have been developing some projects in enhancing mental health and wellbeing among pharmacy staff, and also on educating healthcare professionals on green healthcare and sustainable medicines. I was surprised to learn that there is a mental health crisis in Singapore. Statistics presented by the Singapore Psychological Society according to Singapore’s National Population Health Survey 2022 showed that the number of Singapore residents who had poor mental health increased from 12.5% (2017) to 17.0% (2022). More shockingly (perhaps expected…) was that the largest increase in people with poor mental health was among adults in the 18-29 year age group (16.5% in 2017 to 25.3% in 2022)! However, the rainbow was that there was a slight improvement in mental health among the elderly population (60-74 years old)…

However, what was really interesting to me was the small proportion of psychologists and psychiatrists in Singapore compared to other countries like UK and Australia! The wait times to see a mental healthcare professional had also increased tremendously from 2018 to 2023!

The symposium recognized that sustainable healthcare systems required attention to the foundational elements that support mental wellbeing, including our relationship with nature and nutrition.

Enhancing Mental Wellbeing through Nature and Nutrition

Research from JCU Singapore on nature-based interventions demonstrated that there was therapeutic value of natural environments in healthcare settings. Local studies conducted by A/Prof Denise Dillon‘s group showed that access to natural environments and green spaces could reduce stress, improve mood and the connectedness to nature, and enhance overall wellbeing for both patients and healthcare professionals. But interestingly, their studies observed that Singaporeans had higher levels of anxiety, isolation and loneliness in natural environments compared to built green spaces! It made me understand why there was an increased emphasis of building green spaces in healthcare facilities as a strategy for creating healing environments that support patient recovery and staff wellbeing.

There is also growing evidence showing how dietary patterns can influence brain function, mood regulation, and mental health outcomes. I definitely learnt a new term here: Nutritional Psychiatry – which is an integrative psychiatric model with diet as a key element! Interesting points that I got over here included the:

• Positive impact of Mediterranean diet on improving depressive symptoms;
• Plant-based Diet Index (PDI): There are healthy and unhealthy PDIs; and
• Roles of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs)!

The key takeaway here is that healthcare professionals can also contribute to planetary health by promoting diets that are both health-promoting and environmentally sustainable!

From Macro to Molecular: The Immune System and Psychosis

The emerging field of immunopsychiatry represents a paradigm shift in understanding mental health by examining the intricate connections between immune system function and psychological wellbeing. In the presentation by Dr Yanhui Li from the Institute of Mental Health, Singapore, their research showed how immune biomarkers could potentially be new targets for immunopsychiatric intervention and prevention strategies. For example, CD4/CD8 T-cell ratios could be a potential biomarker of schizophrenia and antipsychotic resistance, and MAIT cells (first time I heard of it!) could also play a possible role in schizophrenia via the gut-brain axis.

Combining molecular techniques with digital health, such as wearables and various types of biomarkers for continuous monitoring (e.g. vocal biomarkers), it will be interesting to see how the field of mental health will evolve in the near future!

World Cafe: Synthesis and Integration

The symposium culminated in a world cafe session that brought together insights from across all themes from the last few days, creating a collaborative synthesis of learning and actionable strategies. The following are the key points from the discussions.

Core Focus Areas:

• Digital competency/intelligence integration
• Sharing of information between stakeholders
• Value-based healthcare (population-based approaches)
• Agile and adaptive leadership development
• AI integration in healthcare education and practice

Conversation 1: Competency and Knowledge Management

Questions:

• What are the one/two ideas and insights from the last few days that really resonated with you and why do you think they did?
• What are one/two actions you would like to take that you think will do something useful with these ideas and insights?

Key Tensions/Challenges:

• Bridging the gap between academic knowledge and industry practice
• Determining optimal digital health competency frameworks
• Addressing knowledge gaps in current market needs

Proposed Solutions:

• Apply wellness and risk management concepts to organizational issues and health managers
• Develop innovative approaches to reduce waiting times and prevent problems
• Examples of innovations include HealthDirect, e-consultations, and AI

Action Items:

• Conduct gap analysis of current market needs
• Create online events to discuss current issues through SHAPE
• Looking at existing case studies in literature
• Create platform for information sharing (e.g. SHAPE website, mini-courses, industry workshops for more hands-on experience, podcasts)
• Create SHAPE collaborative communities on social media (e.g. LinkedIn closed group)
• Update existing textbook with new research in AI and digital health (Mary Harris/new book, e-research book reference)
• Create a SHAPE Community-of-Practice (CoP)

Conversation 2: Network Building and Collaboration

Questions:

• Who might you collaborate with to progress actions you think worth pursuing? Who might those others be?
• What can you do to facilitate this?

Key Stakeholders for Collaboration:

• SHAPE/ Australasian College of Health Service Management (ACHSM) (e.g. Prof Neale)
• University colleges
• Senior leaders in digital health
• State health authority staff
• Health service providers (for case studies and international health symposiums)
• Funders (establish special calls)
• Alumni (industry professionals)
• Student body/exco/representatives
• Publishers and textbook providers
• Indigenous engagement participants
• Digital health industry representatives

Facilitators for Action Plans:

• Reach out to professional networks
• Dedicate a champion to lead connections (e.g. social media)
• Create teams with similar interests (e.g. taskforce, community-of-practice)
• Create and foster collaborative research opportunities through SHAPE
• Publishers (for publishing new book, funding and collaboration opportunities, or as partners for future symposiums/conferences)
• Student body/exco/representatives (for information dissemination)
• Alumni from industry (to give talks, share experiences)

Final Thoughts

The SHAPE Symposium 2025 has shown that meaningful transformation in HSM education is both crucial and achievable. The journey from stakeholder mapping through to mental wellness integration, culminating in a collaborative synthesis through the World Cafe, provides the impetus for collaborative momentum beyond the conference. The networks and relationships formed in the conference can evolve into sustained collaborations that support long-term transformation work.

There are several key insights from the conference that can potentially provide future directions for HSM:

• Education for interdisciplinarity: The education programs must prepare HSM leaders who can work across multi-disciplines, understanding the diverse pathways professionals in the healthcare sector to take on management and leadership roles in the digital health era.
• Technology integration for value-based care: Digital competency is essential, requiring a systematic integration of AI literacy, digital health understanding, and technology-enabled care delivery models to enhance the value of healthcare services to various stakeholders.
• Holistic Wellbeing: Sustainable healthcare systems require attention to practitioner wellbeing, environmental factors, and the complex biological and psychological mechanisms of health.
• Global Collaboration: The international nature of health challenges requires educational approaches that facilitate cross-border learning while respecting local contexts and cultural differences.

The future of HSM education lies in our collective ability to integrate technological innovation with digital intelligence, scientific rigor with compassionate care, with global collaboration contextualized to local relevance. This symposium has provided both the vision and the practical tools needed to navigate HSM transformation in the digital era, creating a foundation for HSM education that can meet the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow’s healthcare landscape.

Symposium Program Booklet

Citation: Yap KY, Liu G, Paryani S. Panel discussion – Healthcare innovation. SHAPE International Symposium 2025. (30 Jun – 2 Jul 2025) Theme: Shaping health management practice, education, and research in the ever-changing environment. Held at James Cook University Singapore Campus, Singapore. Organized by the Society for Health Administration Programs in Education Inc. [DOI: 
10.13140/RG.2.2.20940.32646]