Integrating patient perspectives into medical research and education through new network

LKCMedicine at NTU Singapore has set up a network of patients and caregivers who will work with the School’s researchers and educators to inform, co-create, and deliver medical research and education programmes.

Called OPEN Voices, this network is the first of its kind among medical schools in Singapore. It is part of a wider effort by NTU LKCMedicine to embed patient and public involvement in medical research and education in a holistic and comprehensive manner.

Such a network will ensure that LKCMedicine’s research tackles challenges faced by patients and optimises research through incorporating the patient perspective in key activities, including the development of research priorities, and designing and implementing research studies and clinical trials.

It will also strengthen the School’s mission to nurture a new generation of effective doctors who are also empathetic communicators.

To date, there are 40 patient partners in OPEN Voices from all walks of life, ages and ethnicities. These patient partners live with a variety of health conditions, from cancer and diabetes to eczema and dementia. Caregivers and healthy individuals are also represented in the network.