Professor David Matchar and his team from the Health Services and Systems Research Program (HSSR) at Duke-NUS School of Medicine, Singapore, received two prestigious awards at the 2021 International Stroke Conference for the project their randomized controlled trial examining the impact of stimuli on improving uptake of outpatient rehabilitation services (ORS) among stroke patients in Singapore.
Professor Matchar received the Stroke Rehabilitation Award from the American Stroke Association, which recognizes the best original research in clinical rehabilitation and rehabilitation strategies.
His team also received the Paul Dudley White International Scholar award for submitting the highest summary from Singapore. Named after one of the founders of the American Heart Association who supported global cardiovascular health strategies, the award recognizes work that reflects Dr. White’s vision for global excellence in cardiovascular science. and medicine.
Professor Matchar, who is also a consultant at the Department of Internal Medicine of Singapore General Hospital, received the awards on behalf of the team at the Society’s annual conference held online from 17 to 19 March 2021.
Professor Matchar credits the work of Professor Gerald Koh, now a professor at NUS School of Public Health ‘Saw Swee Hock as an inspiration.
“I was very happy [his] work at NUS on the misuse of rehabilitation services in Singapore and sees inconvenience and cost as the main barriers. This led my team to show in an economic study how better adoption of ORS could be a cost saving for Singapore’s healthcare system. So, this project was the next logical step – how to improve acceptance by tackling the barriers, “said Dr Matchar.
In the award-winning study, Professor Matchar and his team aimed to find out if the relatively low level of ORS in Singapore could be improved if patients were encouraged. A total of 266 participants from the stroke and rehabilitation units of two tertiary hospitals in Singapore were recruited for the study.
The team evaluated two types of incentives, aimed at increasing patient convenience through the provision of coordinated transport and eliminating out-of-pocket costs for ORS sessions attended by patients. to attend.
They found that when both stimuli were offered, an overall improvement in ORS uptake was seen, compared with patients in a control group who received a stroke rehabilitation education program instead of stimuli.
Their findings highlight the opportunities for providing incentives in health policies related to the management of patients with breast health conditions such as stroke.
Professor Thomas Coffman, Dean of Duke-NUS, said, “We are very proud of the prestigious and well-deserved recognition of Professor David Matchar and his team. David has spent his career doing research to improve medical practice, with a particular interest in the care of stroke patients.This is a good example of the impact work he is doing as a specialist clinical scientist, to advance primary care services for Singaporeans with breast health conditions. “
This is the latest distinction in Professor Matchar’s clinical research career, which lasts over three decades. Over the course of his career, he has focused on interdisciplinary clinical work and public policy analysis specifically on the management of brain disorders such as stroke.
He has been awarded the STaR Inspector Award by the National Medical Examination Council for his work on systems model that has addressed the critical strategic and operational challenges posed by a rapidly growing population. He will also be a consultant for areas in clinical policy development, and for specific stroke-related projects. He has recently expanded his focus to address the long-term impact on the health and systems of COVID-19 pandemics.