Track B4: Interdisciplinary Collaboration in the Hospital
Sunday, 28 September | 13:30–15:00 | Galleria Ballroom (Level 3)
This session showcases how collaborative cross-disciplinary efforts are transforming care delivery in hospitals. Featured initiatives include Malaysia’s Diabetes Medication Therapy Adherence Clinic programme, celebrating 20 years of pharmacist-led diabetes management, and the Advanced Prostate Cancer Clinic at Singapore General Hospital, where pharmacists play a pivotal role. The session will also highlight community-based care models from Frontier Healthcare Group and National University Health System Pharmacy, showcasing the expanding role of pharmacists in providing patient-centred services across diverse care settings.
Presentations
The Evolving Role of Pharmacists in a Multidisciplinary Advanced Prostate Cancer Clinic at Singapore General Hospital by Dr Cassandra CHANG
Combination therapy with novel hormonal agents is now the standard of care for patients with de novo metastatic prostate cancer. However, these treatments can lead to significant adverse effects, such as compromised bone health, impaired glycaemic control, and increased cardiovascular risk, and they pose a high potential for drug–drug interactions, especially in elderly patients with multiple comorbidities.
To address these complexities, our institution established a protocolised, pharmacist-led clinic as a key component of the multidisciplinary cancer care team. Pharmacists are uniquely positioned to optimise medication safety, manage interactions, provide patient education, and coordinate access and adherence support.
This presentation highlights the value-added services delivered in this setting and underscores the essential role that clinical pharmacists play in the comprehensive management of advanced prostate cancer. Through targeted pharmacological and supportive interventions, pharmacists significantly enhance the quality, safety, and continuity of care for this vulnerable population.
Pharmacists at the Forefront of Diabetes Care: Two Decades of Diabetes Medication Therapy Adherence Clinic Service in Malaysia by Dr Navin Kumar LOGANADAN
Uncontrolled diabetes leads to various microvascular and macrovascular complications, reducing the quality of life of diabetes patients and also constraining healthcare expenditure. The Diabetes Medication Therapy Adherence Clinic (DMTAC) service began in 2006 and is now available in over 400 facilities (hospitals and health clinics) within the Ministry of Health, Malaysia. DMTAC aims to improve the knowledge and adherence of diabetes patients to medication therapy and improve glycaemic control. In DMTAC, diabetes patients receive medication knowledge assessment, medication adherence assessment, insulin injection technique assessment, hypoglycaemia assessment, review of self-monitoring of blood glucose readings, monitoring of medication side effects, and adjustment of insulin doses during scheduled pharmacist follow-ups. Diabetes education is provided using the DMTAC education modules. DMTAC pharmacists work in the diabetes care team, comprising clinicians, dietitians, diabetes care nurses, and physiotherapists. Several multicentre studies show that DMTAC patients have significantly improved medication adherence, injection technique, and glycaemic control.
Pushing the Frontiers of Clinical Pharmacy in Primary Care: A Collaboration Between General Practitioners and Clinical Pharmacists by Mr Marvin SIM
Primary care has an integral role to play in the healthcare landscape of Singapore. The huge number of patients that need to be managed due to an ageing population allows for clinical pharmacists to showcase their drug knowledge and use it to help improve healthcare outcomes for patients.
The collaboration between doctors and clinical pharmacists is an important partnership that can help patients to achieve their healthcare goals. This presentation highlights the impact that clinical pharmacists can make in a GP setting.
Sharing from the Patients' Perspective by Ms Nidhi SWARUP
Synopsis
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Speakers
Dr Cassandra CHANG
Principal Clinical Pharmacist
Pharmacy
Singapore General Hospital
Singapore
Dr Cassandra Chang is a Principal Clinical Pharmacist at the Department of Pharmacy, Singapore General Hospital (SGH). In 2020, she coestablished the Advanced Prostate Cancer Clinic (APCC) in collaboration with Dr Kenneth Chen, Consultant Urologist at SGH. She plays a key role in developing training programs and clinic policies to maintain high standards of care. Over the years, she has led the implementation of new workflows and initiatives to enhance holistic, patient-centred services within APCC. Her research interests include medication adherence and patient education.
Beyond her work in prostate cancer, Dr Chang provides clinical services in rheumatology, anticoagulation, smoking cessation, and comprehensive medication management. She has been board certified in Ambulatory Care Pharmacy by the Board of Pharmacy Specialties since 2013. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the National University of Singapore in 2017 and received her National Collaborative Prescribing Certification in 2021.
Dr Navin Kumar LOGANADAN
Head of Ambulatory Pharmacy Section
Pharmacy
Putrajaya Hospital
Malaysia
Dr Navin Kumar Loganadan is Head of the Ambulatory Pharmacy Services Section of Putrajaya Hospital in Putrajaya, Malaysia, and of the Diabetes Medication Therapy Adherence Clinic Services in the Ministry of Health, Malaysia. Dr Loganadan has 17 years of experience as a Diabetes Clinical Pharmacist, managing medication-related problems of type 2 diabetes. He received the Next Generation Scientist Award in 2016 from the University of Basel, Switzerland, and trained in the Diabetes Research Program, New York University, USA. He was conferred the Young Investigator Award by the National Diabetes Institute of Malaysia in 2009. He has contributed as advisor for the Practice Transformation Programme – Diabetes by the International Pharmaceutical Federation in 2021. Dr Loganadan was also granted the Ishidate Award (Hospital and Clinical Pharmacy Section) 2024 by the Federation of Asian Pharmaceutical Associations in October 2024 at Seoul, Korea.
Mr Marvin SIM
Senior Clinical Pharmacist
Pharmacy
NUHS Pharmacy
Singapore
Mr Marvin Sim, a Senior Clinical Pharmacist at National University Health System (NUHS) Pharmacy, is a collaborative prescriber with a keen interest in preventive cardiology. He assists in managing chronic conditions of patients in the primary care setting.
Additionally, he is a Pharmacist in the AMI-HOPE programme and manages patients after discharge, assisting them in transitioning to the polyclinic setting.
Expanding beyond the polyclinic setting, Mr Sim also provides a clinical pharmacist service at Frontier Family Medicine Clinic, assisting in titrating medications for patients to achieve their healthcare objectives.
His other interests include pharmacogenomics, where he is currently engaged in a project exploring the effects of pharmacogenomics on statin side effects. He will also be involved in the pre-emptive pharmacogenomics project.
Ms Nidhi SWARUP
Founding Chair
Patient Advocacy
Alliance of Patients’ Organizations Singapore (APOS)
Singapore
Ms Nidhi Swarup holds a Graduate Certificate in Professional Counselling from Swinburne University of Technology, Australia (2008), an MSc in Finance from the University of Leicester, UK (2000), and an MSc in Operations Research from the University of Delhi, India (1990). She is widely recognised as a key opinion leader on both local and international platforms for her work in patient advocacy. With over 20 years of senior management and leadership experience in social services and healthcare, she has a proven track record of generating novel ideas with demonstrated outcomes and has facilitated the formation of patient support groups in Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and India.
An inspirational speaker, Ms Swarup currently serves as Founder and President of the Crohn’s & Colitis Society of Singapore and Founding Chair of the Alliance of Patients’ Organizations Singapore. She also contributes her expertise as a member of the National Pharmacy Strategy Advisory Committee and the Consumer Panel of the Agency for Care Effectiveness at Singapore’s Ministry of Health, as well as to the WHO Patients for Patient Safety Network and the Global Clinical Trials Expert Panel at Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Patient Preference and Adherence and Intestinal Research.
