Trailblazing with Dr Wee Xue Ting (Class of '10 and '16): The Founder of iRx Clinical Pharmacy
From Humble Beginnings to Founding iRx Clinical Services
The story of our featured alumni, Dr Wee Xue Ting (Class of ’10 and ’16), is one of dedication, innovation, and resilience. After completing her pre-registration training at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH), she ventured on a journey of continuous growth and further education. While working as a pharmacist at KTPH, she pursued her Doctor of Pharmacy, completed a residency in cardiology, and ultimately achieved accreditation in October 2022. Her role encompassed managing cardiology and multidisciplinary general wards, the Coronary Care Unit (CCU), anticoagulation services, and the Cardiology Clinic. She also led research and quality improvement initiatives, developing protocols and policies, and mentoring future pharmacists. In January 2023, she made a bold move, leaving KTPH to establish iRx Clinical Pharmacy.
Aligning her specialisation with her interests
Dr Wee’s specialization in cardiology was driven by opportunities and mentorship, particularly from A/Prof Doreen Tan, an expert in cardiology pharmacy whom she really respected. Her interests revolve around caring for patients with multimorbidities and has inspired her to put her best foot forward where polypharmacy is involved. She saw the interconnected nature and interdependence of both the heart and kidneys in such patients, which had fuelled her interest in both areas as she recognized the importance of managing both systems in tandem. Personal and family medical histories also motivated her to prevent cardiovascular mortality.
The Birth of iRx Clinical Pharmacy
Dr Wee’s decision to start iRx was not one of impulse. It took her a long time to deliberate and conceptualize her ideas. Driven by a desire for self-growth, she considered changing institutions. However, she recognized that the experiences would largely be similar to the rich experiences that she had already accrued in KTPH. Coincidentally, the government announced the Healthier SG initiative then. Recognizing the critical role pharmacists could play, especially in preventive cardiology, she teamed up with her general practitioner (GP) friend, Dr Ong Guan Hong, to observe his clinic operations and ideate a model of care that would be effective and meaningful.
Dr Wee views pharmacists as essential extensions of GPs to provide optimal care to patients. Initially, iRx was mainly focused on clinical services, where she would interview patients to identify potential drug-related problems, optimize medication therapy or empower patients to better care for themselves with valuable lifestyle and monitoring advice. Since then, iRx has moved beyond clinical services to now engaging in quality improvement, pharmacy operations and audits, and other clinical projects, collaborating with various healthcare partners to create a more efficient and patient-centric healthcare system.
Memorable Patient Cases
We asked Dr Wee to share memorable patient cases since starting iRx to which she recounted a life-saving episode, demonstrating the impact pharmacists can make at the forefront of community practice. An elderly lady came into the clinic with shoulder pain as her chief complaint. However, with thorough examination and history-taking, she was quickly identified to have a massive heart attack. The swift response and immediate action of the iRx team ensured she received timely hospital treatment and prevented the worst-case scenario.
Another memorable story involved a long-term patient who had been resistant to lipid-lowering medications. When Dr Wee came into the picture, she finally agreed to start on statins. This case illustrated the impact of trust and developing good relationships with patients.
Dr Wee = Empagliflozin???
If she were to describe herself as a drug, Dr Wee says that it would be a Sodium-Glucose Co-Transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, specifically empagliflozin. SGLT2 inhibitors were initially developed for diabetes management. However, they brought about unexpected positive benefits in renal protection and therapy for heart failure. Similarly, Dr Wee started off as a pharmacist in a restructured hospital. However, she has now repurposed her skills to solve problems in private practice, broadening the scope of practice and advancing the pharmacy profession. Like empagliflozin which has only been on the Standard Drug List in Singapore since November 2023, she hopes that iRx will also grow to reach the wider population at an affordable cost in time to come.
Leading an Active Lifestyle by Example
Dr Wee emphasizes the importance of leading an active lifestyle. When asked for tips on how to make time for exercise amidst family and work commitments, Dr Wee shares tips on how to do this efficiently. For example, she joins her children in swimming during their swimming classes and fits in short workouts through exercise videos whenever possible. She is grateful for the invaluable support from her husband and in-laws which also makes it possible for her to dedicate a specific day each week to exercise. Her smartwatch also helps her stay motivated as it tracks the amount of physical activity she has (or has not) done. Ultimately, it is about prioritization.
Aspirations for iRx and the Pharmacy Profession
Dr Wee envisions iRx evolving into an allied health hub, integrating various services on a virtual platform and leveraging AI to enhance care. Through iRx Clinical Pharmacy, she aims to enhance patient care, support healthcare providers, and inspire pharmacists to explore new career opportunities. By leveraging on her experiences and skills, she strives to make a meaningful impact on the healthcare system and the pharmacy profession.
For the pharmacy profession, she hopes to open new career paths in private and community settings, emphasizing holistic and longitudinal chronic care beyond just medications. By applying skills honed in hospital and polyclinic environments, pharmacists can venture into private primary care sectors to transform the care delivery in Singapore.
Parting Inspirations
We asked Dr Wee to share any tips to aspiring entrepreneurs. Her response was refreshingly straightforward: “Just do it!” She emphasizes the importance of learning from others and how they problem solve and highlights the importance of networking even in the healthcare sector. The private healthcare sector offers numerous opportunities for pharmacists to make a significant impact. Pharmacists should be bold and seize these opportunities i.e. just do it!
Dr Wee hopes to motivate everyone to pursue experiences that would enrich their lives and would like to share her life motto: “The world is your oyster! It’s up to you how you would want to paint your blank canvas.”
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Dr Wee for generously sharing her experiences and advice with us. Her courage, innovative ideas and passion in founding iRx Clinical Pharmacy is truly inspiring. We wish her an enriching journey ahead with more successes to come!
Article by Chong Zi Hao Joe (Year 1 Pharmacy student, Vice-Director of 63rd NUSPS Pharmacy Profession Awareness Committee)
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