Philips launches new Singapore program to ensure healthy lives for all

“Today, the world faces significant healthcare challenges with an aging population, the rise of chronic diseases and global resource constraints that limit the access to quality healthcare,” said Ronald de Jong, Executive Vice President & Chief Market Leader, Royal Philips. “I am convinced that these can be addressed through new and more highly integrated care delivery models enabled by health technologies and new business models. It is vital that we innovate with our partners in a meaningful and locally relevant way.”

Speaking at the launch of the Philips APAC Center, Mr. De Jong continued: “This is also a significant event for us at Philips as we celebrate our 125th anniversary this year globally. In Asia, Philips is committed to working in close collaboration with all stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem to redesign how healthcare can be delivered to benefit societies. By leveraging the health technology capabilities that reside in our new APAC headquarters and the talent pool in APAC, we look forward to delivering innovative solutions for this region and beyond.”

Globally, and in Asia, people are increasingly looking for ways to be healthy, to live well and to care for themselves and their families at home. As consumers look for ways to take control of their own health, their needs and those of healthcare professionals are increasingly becoming intertwined. To address these needs, collaborations and partnerships between healthcare professionals and corporate enterprises are imperative to delivering innovative solutions across the health continuum. Together we can empower people to live healthier lives, enable people to better manage their own health, ensure patients receive accurate diagnosis for more effective treatment, and support patients’ recovery and chronic care at home.

“Our new Philips APAC Center – that will house our APAC headquarters and innovation activities – serves as a gateway to the region. Singapore, with its strong pool of skilled talent, is critical to us as we are increasing our focus into health technology. Our business is going through a transformation – from a supplier of individual medical and consumer products to a provider of integrated health technology solutions and services. This means that our facilities and ways of working need to transform as well,” said Fabian Wong, Chief Executive Office, Philips ASEAN Pacific.

“With the new Philips APAC Center, we see a huge potential to form more strategic alliances with leading healthcare innovators in Singapore and the region. Together with our deep clinical and consumer insights, and integrated solutions portfolio, we are well positioned to improve people’s health and enable better outcomes,” continued Mr. Wong.

“Its establishment will reinforce Singapore’s capabilities in design, digital innovation and healthcare, as we build a future economy based on innovation and value-creation.” said Ms. Thien Kwee Eng, Assistant Managing Director of the Singapore Economic Development Board.

The new Philips Toa Payoh campus is set to deliver innovative solutions across the health continuum through its new and unique world-class facilities:

• The Philips Continuous Care Monitoring Room is where healthcare professionals remotely monitor the health of home-based patients with advanced cloud-based healthcare equipment and solutions. Philips' solutions leverage data that enables predictive and timely interventions, delivering accurate answers at the time of need, and detecting issues before they become critical. These pioneering technologies are able to optimize the utilization of public health resources by reducing the need for hospitalization and empowering healthcare professionals with new ways of delivering care for their patients.

• Fully-equipped and built with flexibility in mind, the 1,028 square-meter Health Continuum Space has the capability to simulate multiple health-medical scenarios at the same time – from a mock hospital all the way to a patient’s home. The space enables prototyping of new solutions that help make a meaningful difference in the future of patient care. Through the simulation of these different environments, Philips is able to demonstrate and test new workflows that can then be used to build future healthcare models.

• Continuous learning is integral to continuous innovation. The Philips Learning Center is fully equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment such as MRI and X-Ray machines, laboratories and classrooms. The Learning Center is where healthcare technicians and practitioners can enrich their knowledge and have first-hand experience handling and operating Philips medical equipment to make a difference in patients’ lives every day.

• In the coming months, the Consumer Care center will open to the public. This center comes equipped with a user-friendly digital platform where visitors can conveniently access Philips product information, ratings, and reviews in real-time. Purchases can also be made in the center through the online store. The Consumer Care center is a venue for a variety of enriching experiences. Cooking classes, new product launches and product demonstrations will be conducted here, allowing visitors to fully experience the Philips suite of products that promote health and well-being.

In addition, the building is a showcase equipped with the company’s own industry-leading LED lighting systems. Beyond sustainable features like energy-savings and lowered carbon footprint, connected lighting with Philips PoE (Power-over-Ethernet) is built into areas where higher interaction levels are expected. Facilities management efficiency is improved with less mains wiring since the same cable can serve as the phone line, internet cable and power cable simultaneously. Remote management of these lighting systems also means increased productivity and personalized control.

The Philips APAC Center was built and designed with Workplace Innovation (WPI) in mind, a new way of working that encourages collaboration. With the aim to reduce carbon footprint, the new building now houses employees who used to occupy four buildings, with facilities that foster an activity-based collaborative work culture – a vivid manifestation of Philips’ business goals and role as the regional headquarters. The open-concept design of workplaces and the use of collaborative digital technologies enable employees to be more flexible and agile, in turn enabling them to be more productive, inspired and creative. Philips has used this WPI concept since 2008, and it has been implemented in 29 country offices globally.