Healthcare systems in Asia Pacific (APAC) are confronting unique challenges. For one, the region is aging quickly – the population of older persons (aged over 60) is expected to triple between 2010 and 2050, making up 24% of the population. An ageing population translates to a more cases of chronic conditions and comorbidities, resulting in higher pressure on healthcare delivery systems.

At the same time, APAC is home to nine of the world’s 10 most populous cities. While urban hubs can create opportunities for advanced care delivery, they also present challenges like overcrowded facilities and resource allocation issues.

In addition, many countries in the region face geographic barriers in delivering high quality, universal care, with populations dispersed across large territories, in rural or remote areas. Then there are also industry-wide challenges such as cost pressures and clinician burnout that healthcare leaders here need to grapple with.

The power of AI-enhanced clinical decision support

Organisations and governments in APAC have increasingly turned to digital transformation as a key solution to tackling these challenges, with ongoing high-level discussions around interoperability, regulatory compliance, and system-wide change management.

“One of the biggest challenges that I see is variability in care – in fast-growing healthcare environments, different clinicians may make different decisions for similar cases,” said Regional Director of APAC, Wolters Kluwer Health, Mr Hong Nguyen.

“We need solutions that empower health services and clinicians with data and real-world evidence to drive better decision making. This can be achieved by unifying teams around evidence-based guidance, decreasing variability and improving consistency.”

For decades, global healthcare professionals have leveraged Wolters Kluwer’s UpToDate CDS in making quick, confident decisions. Numerous studies have demonstrated the impact of UpToDate on real-world clinical outcomes, including one by Singapore’s National University Hospital, which found that the use of UpToDate led to a change in investigations, diagnosis or management 37% of the time. A hospital in Japan observed a 2% diagnostic error rate by physicians using UpToDate, against a 24% rate by those without.

In September 2025, Wolters Kluwer Health launched its AI-enhanced UpToDate Enterprise Edition in APAC. Designed specifically for large healthcare systems and hospitals, the solution goes beyond traditional CDS to deliver streamlined workflows, harmonised content for the entire care team and advanced insights.

For example, its AI-Enhanced Search capabilities allow clinicians to ‘talk’ to it naturally, as if consulting with a colleague.

“So, a doctor in a busy urban hospital can quickly enter a complex, multi-concept question such as, “What’s the best treatment protocol for diabetes in elderly patients with hypertension?” The system then delivers verbatim insights, authored by trusted experts,” Mr Nguyen explained.

The AI-powered Analytics Dashboard provides non-clinical leaders with insights into drug trends, condition prevalence, and clinical usage patterns at an enterprise level. These insights can be harnessed for improved efficiency, strategic planning, budgeting, and compliance monitoring.

Building trust in healthcare AI

“Data analytics and AI represents a significant opportunity for the healthcare industry. It offers a smarter, faster way to get access to the right information at the point of care,” said Mr Nguyen.

“That being said, we need to ensure we have a measured and responsible approach to AI to ensure that it meets the high standards required for clinical care. As part of this approach, AI solutions need to be accurate, safe, continuously reviewed and transparent, so healthcare workers can understand where the source of information is coming from and the level of evidence associated with recommendations. If you get this combination right, I believe you will be able to significantly impact the clinicians and patients.”

Furthermore, practicing clinicians and healthcare partners have helped test new Generative AI functionality through AI Labs in UpToDate Enterprise Edition – providing feedback, testing prompts, and identifying solution improvements. These partners will continue to be kept in the loop to support future iterations, Mr Nguyen emphasised.

“Our main goal is to continue to provide solutions that clinicians trust and that impact patient outcomes. With the release of UpToDate Enterprise Edition to the APAC region in September, we will work with large hospitals and healthcare systems to help unify care teams, reduce variability in decision-making, and deliver more consistent, evidence-based care — transforming the way healthcare is delivered in the region.”