Private Hospitals in Singapore to Share Patient Health Records on National Platform by 2025
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Loading... - Adika Lestari
- 11 Nov 2024
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The Ministry of Health (MOH) in Singapore announced on November 9 that all nine private hospitals in the country will begin sharing patient health records on a national platform starting in 2025. This initiative aims to enhance continuity of care across various healthcare providers, ensuring that patients receive more coordinated and efficient medical attention.
The National Electronic Health Record (NEHR) system, which was established in 2011, serves as a centralized repository for critical health data, including diagnoses, medications, allergies, and laboratory reports. By utilizing this system, patients will no longer need to repeatedly provide their medical history to different healthcare providers or undergo unnecessary repeat tests. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung emphasized that a central database not only minimizes errors but also facilitates research opportunities, such as training artificial intelligence (AI) models for predictive preventive care.
Currently, public hospitals, which manage 90% of Singapore's acute hospital workload, are already utilizing the NEHR system, along with primary care providers like polyclinics and general practitioner clinics participating in the Healthier SG initiative. The MOH confirmed that all private hospitals have committed to collaborating with the ministry and Synapxe, the national health tech agency, to ensure their hospital management systems are ready for integration with the NEHR by 2025.
To protect patient data, healthcare providers that contribute to or access the NEHR must adhere to stringent cybersecurity and data security standards. These requirements include regular updates of systems and software, training staff in cyber hygiene practices, and mandatory reporting of any cybersecurity incidents or data breaches.
The MOH plans to introduce legislation to mandate contributions to the NEHR. The Health Information Bill is expected to be presented in parliament next year, establishing a framework for the safe collection, access, use, and sharing of health information across the healthcare ecosystem.
Private hospital groups, including Farrer Park Hospital and Raffles Medical, have indicated that they are preparing their systems to share data with the NEHR. IHH Healthcare Singapore, which operates hospitals such as Gleneagles, Mount Elizabeth, and Parkway East, stated that it is on track to meet the technical and cybersecurity requirements for NEHR integration by 2025. Mr. Yong Yih Ming, chief operating officer of IHH Healthcare Singapore, noted that the organization has been preparing for this integration since 2018.
Thomson Medical's CEO, Lee Suen Ming, expressed enthusiasm for participating in the NEHR initiative, highlighting that the healthcare group has enhanced its electronic medical record system since 2023 to align with the upcoming requirements.
This move towards a unified health record system is expected to significantly improve patient care in Singapore by ensuring that healthcare providers have access to comprehensive and up-to-date patient information.
