Former Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner Ong Yan Chun, 31, came to a realisation that many administrative tasks could be done by technology during her medical practice. As such, she decided to dedicate herself to the field of data science and leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance healthcare services.
Her interest in TCM began during her time as a track and field athlete in secondary school and junior college. Participating in competitive running made her realise the importance of staying healthy. She was introduced to Chinese medicine by her coach and learned about its treatment benefits.
During competition seasons, she and her teammates would take Chinese medicine to regulate their bodies to avoid falling sick. Once, she accidentally sprained her ankle a week before her competition and recovered quickly thought acupuncture and other treatments.
Thus, when applying for university, she opted for a double degree programme in biomedical science and TCM, jointly established by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. She later worked as a TCM practitioner in a private clinic in 2018.
In her one to two years of practice, she found that many administrative tasks, such as filling in the corresponding disease classification codes of patients’ insurance claims, could be optimised with technology.
“Particularly in Singapore where there is a manpower shortage, if such tasks can be minimised, it would allow doctors to dedicate more time to patient care.”
Enrolling to learn data science without a programming background
In 2020, despite having no prior programming experience, Yan Chun enrolled in a master’s programme in business analytics to learn data science. In the following year, she joined Synapxe – the national HealthTech agency under the Ministry of Health – hoping to create innovative solutions to improve everyone’s health and efficiency for medical practitioners.
At present, she serves as a senior specialist in data analytics and AI, and is involved in the development of the Assisted Chronic Disease Explanation using AI (ACE-AI). This system utilises AI to process vast amounts of medical records, and predicts patients’ risk of developing hypertension, diabetes and other common chronic illnesses in the next three years with an accuracy rate of up to 85%.
Last year, a total of 18 general practice clinics piloted this system, receiving positive feedback. The system is currently undergoing further evaluation.
Yan Chun continues attending classes regularly to renew her TCM practitioner license. For those looking to enter the technology field but concerned about their lack of relevant background, she advises not to worry about technical shortcomings, but to view the experience in their field as an advantage.
“I see this as a way to drive technology advancement keep up with the times and reach more people.”
