Singapore: Phase 2 implementation of the Healthcare Services Act 2020 with effect from 26 June 2023

In brief

Phase 2 of the Healthcare Services Act 2020 (HCSA) has been implemented with effect from 26 June 2023.

Under Phase 2, medical or dental healthcare providers who deliver services outside the premises of clinics and via teleconsultation will be required to hold a HCSA licence, along with service providers offering outpatient medical and dental services, nuclear medicine, and outpatient renal dialysis, among others.


Contents

In more detail

The HCSA replaces the premises-based Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act (PHMCA). It shifts Singapore's healthcare system from a premises-based framework to a services-based framework.

Phase 1 of the HCSA was implemented on 3 January 2023, bringing PHMCA laboratory licensees under the HCSA’s new regulatory regime. 

Phase 2 was implemented on 26 June 2023 and will affect the majority of services currently regulated under the PHMCA. These include the following:

  1. Home medical/dental and home palliative care service providers
  2. Medical or specialist clinics that engage or employ doctors to offer teleconsultation services
  3. Telemedicine platform companies that engage or employ doctors to provide teleconsultation services
  4. Individual doctors who offer teleconsultation services in their own professional capacity
  5. Doctors or dentists who offer home medical/dental care in their own professional capacity 
  6. Medical or dental practitioners who provide services outside of permanent clinic settings

Phase 3 is expected to be implemented in late 2023 and will encompass long-term care services, including nursing home services and preventive health services such as vaccinations.

Our previous newsletter covering the Phase 1 implementation can be found here.

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