Projected Expenditure for Next Generation Electronic Medical Record System and Impact on Healthcare Costs
Ministry of HealthSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the projected expenditure and cost impact of the Next Generation Electronic Medical Record (NGEMR) system. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song inquired about total costs, value for money, and measures to prevent increased healthcare costs for patients. Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung stated that the government is investing $1.5 billion over 10 years to implement NGEMR across the public healthcare sector. The Minister noted that the system phases out over 100 legacy IT systems, improves care coordination through shared medical records, and utilizes analytical tools to enhance efficiency and health outcomes. Following completed roll-outs at two clusters, implementation for SingHealth will take place from 2026 to 2028 to further streamline public healthcare delivery.
Transcript
26 Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the total projected expenditure for implementing the Next Generation Electronic Medical Record (NGEMR) system to provide a single patient record across all public healthcare clusters; (b) how does the Ministry assess its impact on overall public healthcare costs; and (c) what measures are implemented to ensure that the NGEMR system (i) delivers value for money and (ii) does not increase overall healthcare costs for patients.
Mr Ong Ye Kung: The phased roll-out of the Next Generation Electronic Medical Record (NGEMR) at the National University Health System and the National Healthcare Group (NHG) was completed in July 2024, while that for SingHealth will take place from late 2026 to 2028. In total, the Government would have invested $1.5 billion over 10 years to develop and implement NGEMR for the whole public healthcare sector.
NGEMR is a strategic investment with very significant benefits. More than 100 legacy information technology (IT) systems and the associated costs will be phased out. For patients who receive care at different public healthcare institutions, detailed medical records and doctors' notes on their care will be readily accessible by their doctors in the different institutions, which will improve the coordination of care for the patient. This benefit is now already realised for patients that seek care from both the National University Hospital Singapore and NHG clusters. NGEMR will also enable public healthcare institutions to utilise various analytical and operational IT tools in the system, that is available currently and in future, to enhance workflow, raise efficiency and improve health outcomes.