Heart To Health Talk

What is Advanced Care Planning (ACP), and how can help us and our loved ones in times of severe disease? In the final episode of the New Summer, New Me series, we speak to Cynthia Chng, a member of the ACP team at the Agency for Integrated Care, to find out more about ACP, and how we can approach our loved ones to tackle a conversation that we think is too early, until it is too late.

As we return to normalcy after the pandemic, more and more people are placing greater emphasis on their mental wellbeing. Is there enough support from various stakeholders to support those with poor mental wellbeing? How can we improve our mental health literacy? Join us in our fourth episode of the New Summer, New Me series, where we speak to Dr. Wong Chee Meng John about these issues. Dr. Wong is a Senior Consultant at the Department of Psychological Medicine in the National University Hospital and the director of the Mind Science Centre.

In the second half of our third episode, we are discussing all things skincare! Dr. Etienne brings us through his own skincare routine and some ingredients to look out for in our skincare routine. He also discusses some skincare trends, such as the clean girl aesthetic and the 12-step Korean skincare routine.

How do we know whether a mole is cancerous? Are sunscreens really useful? In the first half of our third episode of the New Summer, New Me series, Dr. Etienne Wang brings us through the ABCDEs of moles and some myths about sun protection. He also talks about hair loss. Dr. Etienne Wang is a senior consultant at the National Skin Centre.

ADDENDUM: Dr Wang accidentally misspoke when describing the hair cycle. The catagen (regression phase) comes after the anagen (growth phase), and before telogen (rest phase).

Are eye exercises really effective? Do we really need those blue light filters in our spectacles? In the third episode of the New Summer, New Me series, Dr. Anna Tan and Dr. Loon Seng Chee debunk some myths related to eye care. They also bring us through LASIK surgery and Orthokeratolgy, which are popular methods of improving vision. Dr. Loon Seng Chee is the Head of Opthalmology at Alexandra Hospital, and specialises in surgery for glaucoma and complex cataracts. Dr. Anna Tan is a Partner and Senior Consultant at Eye and Retina Surgeons (ERA), Camden Medical.

We are picking up from where we left off! In the second part of our first episode, we continue our conversation with Wei Hao and Joel, who bring us through their own healthy living goals, and the setbacks they faced in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. 

Summer is here, and everyone is trying to get their ideal summer bodies, through means such as quick diets. Are the diets we follow sustainable? Do we still meet our nutritional needs in these diets? In the first half of our first episode in our latest series, New Summer, New Me, we talk to Wei Hao and Joel, the President and General Assistant of the Food Science and Technology Society at the National University of Singapore, to gain more insights on these issues.

If you ask your family and friends whether they are open to video consultations with their doctor, you might get a very different answer now as compared to back in 2019 or earlier. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted perceptions towards telemedicine services. In the final episode of our Digital Health series, we take a deep dive into the potential and limitations of telemedicine together with Dr Bobby and Juliana, two co-founders of Rescu. Rescu is your friendly neighbourhood house call doctor and telemedicine service based in Singapore. 

What exactly is Telehealth? And how can it complement our local healthcare system and perhaps even help our parents and grandparents? To find out more, we spoke with Darren, a recent graduate from Nanyang Technological University. He is the co-founder of Igaku, a Telehealth platform working to improve healthcare accessibility in Indonesia.

Games like Just Dance or Pokemon Go are certainly fun, but their potential to encourage healthier habits (e.g., moving more) can often be overlooked by a casual player of these games. On the second episode of our Digital Health series, we speak to Dr Joshua Wong to understand how games and gamification can promote desirable health behaviours. Dr Wong is an associate lecturer at SIM Global Education who has conducted research on digital telehealth and the design of serious games.