640 - HIMSS26: How Asia Pacific is Driving Healthcare Collaboration, Digital Excellence, AI Adoption

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch speaks with Andrew Pearce from HIMSS, Lily Liu, Director of Digital Health at Western Health, Aurel Qian from SenseTime Medical, and Dr Jong-Soo Choi from Samsung Medical Center about digital transformation, AI, and healthcare system innovation across the Asia-Pacific region.

The conversation covers approaches to digital benchmarking, connected care, shadow AI, AI adoption infrastructure, and robotics in hospital logistics.

Recorded during HIMSS26 Asia Pacific in Singapore, this episode brings together a range of perspectives from across the region, each guest offering a different lens on what it takes to modernise healthcare at scale.

From navigating legacy hospital systems to building the networks and standards that support safe, sustainable AI adoption, the discussions explore what's really driving digital transformation on the ground.

They also look at what still needs to be solved before technology can deliver on its promise for patients and staff alike.

This episode is part of our HIMSS26 APAC coverage, recorded live in Singapore. Catch the rest of the conversations in the Talking HealthTech @ HIMSS26 APAC on YouTube, or on your favourite podcast platforms.

Key Takeaways

💡 The HIMSS global standards offer consistent benchmarking for digital health maturity across diverse Asia-Pacific health systems, enabling collaboration and knowledge sharing.

🤝 Connected care remains a central priority for APAC governments, focusing on interoperability across hospitals, clinics, and aged care to drive improved patient outcomes.

🦾 AI is increasingly woven into healthcare, from "shadow AI" practices within organisations to structured infrastructure aiding clinical decisions and operations.

🔋 Acceptance of AI in healthcare is shaped by government policy, infrastructure, and public engagement, with APAC nations like China advancing large-scale deployment strategies.

🤖 Automation, such as robotics in hospitals, is reducing manual workloads and enabling clinicians, especially nurses, to focus on direct patient care.