Holmusk, National Healthcare Group and Institute of Mental Health outline strategic collaboration to strengthen mental healthcare in Singapore

Holmusk has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Singapore's National Healthcare Group (NHG) and the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), to jointly develop innovative solutions for mental healthcare. The MOU outlines a shared vision to use digital technology, data and predictive analytics to help improve the mental health and well-being of the population.

The tripartite partnership seeks to address the unmet clinical needs of patients, populations and healthcare professionals, through leveraging the clinical expertise and translational research capabilities of NHG and IMH, and Holmusk's expertise in generating insights from mental health real-world data through advanced analytics and digital technology. Building on its evidence generation platform (NeuroBlu) and digital therapeutics platform (mConnect), Holmusk will work closely with NHG and IMH to co-develop tools that aim to enable earlier detection and intervention in mental health disorders such as depression by using advanced analytics. They include identifying and validating novel digital biomarkers for mental health through the use of integrated and protected data from clinical records and smartphones, which can provide a more objective measure of an individual's mental state, as well as conditions including depression and schizophrenia. Holmusk, NHG and IMH will also co-develop a suite of digital therapeutics and tools for mental healthcare that can be used in hospitals and clinics across primary care and community settings, beginning with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).

According to the 2016 Singapore Mental Health Study, about one in seven people in Singapore has experienced a mental health condition in their lifetime. Despite MDD being the most common mental disorder, a high proportion of people with mental disorders, including MDD, do not seek help, thus resulting in a significant treatment gap. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of mental health, with more people seeking help for mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

"Holmusk is committed to bring its existing assets and deep expertise in data analytics and digital technology to transform mental healthcare. We believe that using technology to generate novel insights will transform our current understanding of mental health and lay the foundation for a whole new generation of treatments," said Nawal Roy, Founder and CEO at Holmusk. "Care teams will be able to identify patients with more urgent needs, allowing these patients to get the right support in a timely manner."

"Digital technology will change how mental health conditions are diagnosed, monitored, and even treated," said Professor Benjamin Seet, Deputy Group CEO (Education and Research) and Group Chief Research Officer at NHG. "Our partnership with Holmusk is game-changing. Coupled with Singapore's strong healthcare, IT and data infrastructure, we are well-poised to break new ground in this exciting space."       

"Clinicians need corroborative information from as many sources as possible in psychiatric assessments. Digital biomarkers will be yet another source and can supplement clinical expertise to help us reach an accurate diagnosis and also monitor our patients closely. This, together with a digital suite of care services, signals the potential for a more personalised treatment for patients," said Professor Chua Hong Choon, Chief Executive Officer, IMH.

About Holmusk

Holmusk is on a mission to transform the lives of people with behavioural health and chronic diseases through evidence driven medicine. Headquartered in Singapore with a global footprint, Holmusk develops digital solutions to advance health innovation, research, and care, and is building the world's largest real-world evidence platform for behavioural health and chronic diseases

Holmusk's analytics platform synthesizes Real-World Data (RWD) with proprietary disease progression models to create actionable insights for behavioural health research, innovation, and care delivery. Holmusk's Real-World Evidence Platform is powered by one of the largest longitudinal de-identified behavioural health databases, with data from more than 550,000+ patients collected over 20+ years and 20+ million visits.  Holmusk is continuously enhancing its database by partnering with health systems globally. In addition, Holmusk builds digital health solutions that enhance patient engagement, support disease self-management, and capture patient-reported outcomes to guide clinical decisions and analytics. 

About National Healthcare Group

The National Healthcare Group (NHG) is a leader in public healthcare in Singapore, recognised at home and abroad for the quality of its medical expertise and facilities. Care is provided through an integrated network of six primary care polyclinics, acute care and tertiary hospitals, national specialty centres and business divisions. Together they bring a rich legacy of medical expertise to our philosophy of integrated patient-centred care.

NHG's vision is "Adding Years of Healthy Life". This vision goes beyond merely healing the sick to the more difficult and infinitely more rewarding task of preventing illness and preserving health and quality of life. With some 20,000 staff, NHG aims to provide care that is patient-centric, accessible, seamless, comprehensive, appropriate and cost-effective.

As the Regional Health System (RHS) for Central Singapore, it is vital for NHG to partner and collaborate with stakeholders, community advisors, and voluntary welfare organisations. Together with our patients, their families and caregivers, we aim to deliver integrated healthcare services and programmes that help in Adding Years of Healthy Life to all concerned. 

About Institute of Mental Health

The Institute of Mental Health (IMH), a member of the National Healthcare Group, is the only tertiary psychiatric care institution in Singapore. Located on the sprawling 23-hectare campus, IMH offers a multidisciplinary and comprehensive range of psychiatric, rehabilitative and therapy services in hospital-based and community-based settings. The 2010-bedded hospital aims to meet the needs of three groups of patients - children and adolescents (aged below 19 years), adults and the elderly. Besides providing clinical services, IMH also leads in mental health research and training the next generation of mental health professionals in Singapore.