Ng Mingwei, Liu Zhenghong, Pillay Mohan, Chang Sook Mei, Tan Boon Kiat Kenneth
Department of Emergency Medicine, Singapore General Hospital, 1 Hospital Drive, Outram Road, Singapore, 169608, Singapore, 65 62223322.
Office of Patient Experience, SingHealth, Singapore, Singapore.
J Particip Med. 2025 Aug 27;17:e72552. doi: 10.2196/72552.
Launched in January 2022, the SingHealth Patient Advocacy Network at the Department of Emergency Medicine (SPAN@DEM) represents the first emergency department-specific advocacy group in Singapore. This initiative marks a significant advancement in local patient advocacy efforts because it employs a shared collaborative model to address the needs and concerns of patients within the unique context of the emergency department environment. SPAN@DEM emerged in recognition of the limitations of existing cluster-level advocacy groups, which are inadequate to address specific challenges inherent to the fast-paced, high-pressure nature of the emergency department.
In this article, we describe the establishment of SPAN@DEM, discuss the challenges and considerations encountered, and reflect on lessons gleaned through this journey.
A start-up committee, comprising two emergency physicians and four patient advocates, was convened to delineate the processes required to form a new patient advocacy group. Key features of SPAN@DEM include co-leadership by an emergency physician and a patient advocate, and diverse membership composition with equal representation from health care professionals and patient advocates. SPAN@DEM convenes quarterly with informal luncheons during meetings to foster open communication between advocates and health care staff. Membership is voluntary and motivated solely by altruism, and all members are required to participate in mandatory advocacy training to empower them to provide more actionable insights.
Since its inception, SPAN@DEM has implemented several initiatives such as PIKACHU (Project to Improve next-of-Kin Advice, Communications and Helpful Updates)-a suite of quality improvement measures that resulted in improved patient and next-of-kin satisfaction rates and reduced formal communication-related complaints-and Digital FAQ-an online web-based resource designed to clarify emergency department processes for patients. SPAN@DEM advocates have also contributed to the planning, design, and transition to the new Emergency Medicine Building. More importantly, SPAN@DEM has fostered a cultural shift towards patient-centered care, with the department now routinely engaging patient advocates in decisions affecting patient and next-of-kin experience.
SPAN@DEM exemplifies the value of specialized emergency department-specific advocacy groups in advancing patient-centered emergency care. This model may serve as an exemplar for other health care institutions seeking to enhance patient advocacy efforts.
新加坡中央医院急诊医学部患者倡导网络（SPAN@DEM）于2022年1月启动，是新加坡首个针对急诊科的倡导组织。该倡议标志着本地患者倡导工作取得了重大进展，因为它采用了共享协作模式，以应对急诊科独特环境中患者的需求和关切。SPAN@DEM的出现是因为认识到现有集群层面倡导组织的局限性，这些组织不足以应对急诊科快节奏、高压力性质所固有的特定挑战。
在本文中，我们描述了SPAN@DEM的成立过程，讨论了遇到的挑战和考虑因素，并反思了在这个过程中吸取的经验教训。
成立了一个由两名急诊医生和四名患者倡导者组成的启动委员会，以确定组建一个新的患者倡导组织所需的流程。SPAN@DEM的主要特点包括由一名急诊医生和一名患者倡导者共同领导，以及成员构成多样化，医护人员和患者倡导者的代表人数相等。SPAN@DEM每季度召开一次会议，会议期间举行非正式午餐会，以促进倡导者与医护人员之间的开放沟通。成员资格是自愿的，且完全出于利他主义动机，所有成员都必须参加强制性的倡导培训，以使他们能够提供更具可操作性的见解。
自成立以来，SPAN@DEM实施了多项举措，如皮卡丘项目（改善近亲建议、沟通和有用更新项目）——一套质量改进措施，提高了患者和近亲的满意度，减少了与正式沟通相关的投诉；以及数字常见问题解答——一个在线网络资源，旨在为患者澄清急诊科流程。SPAN@DEM的倡导者还为新急诊医学大楼的规划、设计和过渡做出了贡献。更重要的是，SPAN@DEM促进了向以患者为中心的护理的文化转变，该部门现在经常让患者倡导者参与影响患者和近亲体验的决策。
SPAN@DEM体现了专门针对急诊科的倡导组织在推进以患者为中心的急诊护理方面的价值。这种模式可能为其他寻求加强患者倡导工作的医疗机构提供范例。
