Community care teams and voice authentication: How one firm protects lives, while the other safeguards life savings

When you are down with a fever and stuffy nose, the last thing you want is to leave your bed. Fortunately, modern telemedicine apps let you consult doctors and even get medicine delivered right to your door.

While telemedicine has made medical care more convenient for tech-savvy consumers, those who stand to benefit the most from the service often struggle to access it.

“There is a large group of people out there, in rental flats and receiving social assistance, or the very elderly, who don’t know how to use mobile phones,” says Dr Ong Guan Hong, chief executive officer of PanCare Medical, a medical group specialising in community and transitional care.

Many of these patients face mobility challenges too. “Some of them are very frail, wheelchair- or bed-bound,” he adds.

Rather than having doctors make individual house calls, PanCare Medical has developed an innovative solution. Specifically, mobile teams of nurses and healthcare assistants visit patients at home, conducting basic procedures and facilitating video consultations with clinic-based doctors when needed.

This telemedicine-by-proxy model has significantly improved efficiency, allowing doctors to consult with more patients while nurses provide hands-on care.

By maximising the skills of both medical professionals and support staff, PanCare Medical can also reach more homebound patients daily while maintaining high standards of care.

Proven expertise in managing complex healthcare facilities

PanCare Medical, winner of the Emerging Enterprise Award this year, earned its stripes during one of Singapore’s most challenging healthcare crises. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the company played a crucial role in setting up, managing and running Joint Testing and Vaccination Centres (JTVCs), swab isolation facilities and community care facilities, demonstrating their ability to efficiently handle large-scale healthcare operations.

This extensive experience and proven track record led to PanCare Medical winning competitive bids to operate two strategic Transitional Care Facilities (TCFs).

TCF@East in Changi (in partnership with Parkway) and TCF@West in Jurong serve patients who have been discharged from acute care in hospitals but are waiting for their discharge destination to be ready. PanCare Medical provides follow-up care like rehabilitation and psychiatric counselling, as well as caregiver training.

“Our experience managing JTVCs during the Covid-19 pandemic taught us valuable lessons about scaling healthcare operations while maintaining quality care,” says Dr Ong, who has been practising medicine for more than 13 years. “We applied these insights to create comprehensive care programs at our transitional care facilities.”

The company’s “kampung spirit” approach stems from its eight heartland clinics, strategically located in areas with high concentrations of elderly residents needing chronic and geriatric care: Ang Mo Kio, Hougang, Serangoon, Jurong East, Lavender, Bukit Merah, Yishun and Lorong Ah Soo.

By working with specialists, these clinics aim to bring hospital-level services like physiotherapy, dietician services, counselling and wound care into the heartlands, providing holistic care that addresses medical, functional, mental health and nutritional needs.

“We think of ways to further value-add to our end users and go the extra mile. For example, family involvement is very important, so we have events like the Mid-Autumn Festival and campfires. We also bring in volunteers to provide haircuts, music and art therapy at our TCF,” says Dr Ong.

Pioneering multilingual AI solutions for Asia’s diverse markets

In a region where multiple languages and dialects often blend within a single conversation, Fano has emerged as a groundbreaking force in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven language solutions. The company, another Emerging Enterprise Award winner, has developed sophisticated AI models specifically trained to handle the linguistic complexity of Asian markets.

“Asia’s linguistic landscape is unique,” explains Dr Miles Wen, Fano’s chief executive officer. “In Singapore alone, you might hear Singlish that combines English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil in a single sentence. Traditional language processing systems struggle with this reality.”

Fano’s proprietary software transcribes multiple languages in real-time with over 90 per cent accuracy, surpassing human listeners. Currently supporting over 18 languages and dialects, including Singlish, Cantonese, Tagalog and Hindi, its technology has found critical applications across various industries.

Major financial institutions use Fano’s speech analytics software to track and label different voices during complex banking meetings involving multiple participants – clients, family members, lawyers, bankers and supervisors. This proves invaluable for regulatory compliance and documentation requirements.

The technology’s applications extend beyond finance. Stock exchanges use it to monitor rapid trader communications, while law enforcement and legal proceedings benefit from its ability to transcribe and distinguish speakers across various languages and dialects accurately.

One crucial application of Fano’s technology is in combating the rising threat of AI-powered voice scams. Their scam detection software helps banks and financial institutions identify AI-generated voices and prevent fraudulent transfers, addressing a growing concern in the digital age. In the first half of 2024, Singapore reported scam losses of $385.6m, averaging $116,500 per case.

Unlike general speech processing models from tech giants like Google or Amazon, Fano achieves higher accuracy by training on specific data from their clients, including banks, financial institutions and public agencies. Their client roster includes regional banks like HSBC and a majority of local and international banks in Hong Kong.

“We’re not just here for security, but to create value for society,” says Dr Wen, whose own mother fell victim to fraud. To prevent misuse of their technology, which is founded on decades of academic research, Fano carefully selects its clients. 

“We do not work with general consumers directly, only with reputable firms. These organisations publish their governance framework, so we are confident that the technology will not be abused and misused.”