In more detail

SGD 200 million AI boost and other tech initiatives

The MOH revealed that Singapore's public healthcare institutions will receive SGD 200 million to enhance the use of AI tools and genomics data for preventive care. The MOH will invest this sum over five years through the MOH Health Innovation Fund. This significant investment aims to optimize efficiency in healthcare, enable early detection and intervention of health issues, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.

Over the next two years, three major healthcare technology initiatives will be developed:

• National genetic testing program for familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) by mid-2025
• Automated record updating throughout the public healthcare system by end-2025
• Progressive roll-out of AI for mammography screenings from end-2025

Through these initiatives, the MOH aims to provide personalized treatment plans based on genetic data and to reduce human error in healthcare processes. This may take the form of sophisticated disease prediction models, which can include parameters such as health status, lifestyles, social economic circumstances and genetic information.

Moreover, the MOH will upgrade its IT infrastructure, starting with a unified electronic medical record (or EMR) system across public healthcare institutions. AI tools will subsequently be incorporated into the system. Additionally, a cloud-based platform named Health Empowerment through Advance Learning and Intelligent eXchange (or HEALIX) will serve as the AI "technology factory" for the healthcare system in Singapore. This will facilitate the secure sharing of anonymized clinical and genomic data, as well as the training of AI and machine learning tools.

While the MOH cautioned that overly restrictive regulations could hinder the potential benefits of AI, it acknowledged and underscored the importance of existing healthcare, cybersecurity and data protection laws. These will ensure that the judgment of healthcare professionals retains primacy even with the integration of AI, and that the integrity of individuals' personal data and organizations' cybersecurity profiles will not be compromised.

Focus on precision medicine

Further, in recognizing the potential of precision medicine, particularly how it will increasingly become mainstream clinical practice in the future, the MOH announced that approved precision medicine therapies will be covered under MediShield Life (Singapore's universal health insurance scheme) to ensure affordability for all Singaporeans. The MOH will also devote resources to strengthening local efforts to produce precision medicine treatments quickly and at lower cost.

Regulating genetic test data

Finally, the MOH highlighted the ethical issues involved in the use and disclosure of genetic and genomic test data, including how the MOH worked with the Life Insurance Association to put in place a moratorium on genetic testing and insurance, which disallows the use of genetic test results for insurance underwriting. The MOH indicated that it wished to strengthen the moratorium and give it permanence.

In this regard, the MOH revealed that it is working on new legislation intended to address the potential undesirable outcomes, such as discriminatory use of such genetic data in education, employment and insurance.

Key takeaways

• The new technology initiatives and the proposed SGD 200 million investment into AI and genomics for preventive healthcare signal a forward-thinking approach that is welcome, especially given Singapore's aging population. This also underscores the MOH's continued support for the development of AI in Singapore's healthcare industry.
• The inclusion of precision medicine therapies under MediShield Life democratizes healthcare benefits and ensures that advanced treatments remain accessible to all Singaporeans.
• Forthcoming legislation regulating genetic data will keep pace with advancements in genetic data collection and its use in AI. This will balance technological progress with ethical imperatives to prevent abuse and accord robust protection to individuals' genetic information. This will also mean a transforming regulatory environment that companies in the healthcare industry would have to keep abreast of.
• The existing legal framework governing healthcare services, personal data and cybersecurity will continue to play an important role in the healthcare sector, particularly in ensuring that the professional judgment of healthcare practitioners remains paramount and that the security and integrity of sensitive data are upheld.

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