Tan Kiat How on Health Information Bill

The sharing of a patient’s key health information across settings and service providers is essential, and the Health Information Bill (HIB) will help Singapore realise its vision of "One Patient, One Health, One Care Journey", said Senior Minister of State for Health Tan Kiat How. Firstly, all licensed healthcare providers will have to contribute to the National Electronic Health Record (NEHR) system so that the key health information of patients can be accessed by their healthcare providers when they move across healthcare settings. Patients will benefit from better coordinated care, enhanced quality of care and lower costs. Secondly, the HIB will enable the sharing of non-NEHR health information to facilitate community-based care. Mr Tan, who outlined the key provisions of the bill in parliament on Monday (Jan 12), said the plan is for the bill to take effect from early 2027. This would give healthcare providers sufficient time to get familiar with the requirements and strengthen their cybersecurity and data security posture. The Ministry of Health (MOH) is working closely with healthcare providers on the implementation timelines and will announce the details soon. MOH is also working on publishing the guidelines on appropriate access and use of NEHR information.