SingHealth, Singapore’s largest public healthcare cluster, and Philips have signed an MoU to advance digital-first healthcare to future-proof care delivery.

The partnership aims to accelerate digital healthcare transformation in Singapore, with a focus on co-designing and integrating AI and predictive data management to improve patient care by 2028.

Projects under this partnership aim to streamline imaging data workflows by developing a standardised data architecture for better diagnostics and patient outcomes, and optimise intensive care unit (ICU) capacity and workflow efficiency by leveraging monitoring and AI tools to help healthcare staff direct care to the right patient at the right time.

This MoU is a step towards building a robust and standardised data architecture for SingHealth. By leveraging Philips healthcare technologies, the partnership strives to enable seamless digital workflows and improve clinical decision-making. This allows care teams to enhance human interaction with patients, deepen connections and improve outcomes. This will advance SingHealth’s goal to deliver care in a more patient-centric manner through a digital-first strategy.

“We are privileged to partner with SingHealth on this venture to accelerate the digital transformation of healthcare delivery in Singapore,” said Hung Choong Hwang, country manager for Philips in Singapore. “By combining our technological expertise with SingHealth’s clinical excellence, we aim to set new benchmarks in healthcare innovation, quality and resilience, in line with our vision of delivering better care for more people.”

Philips and SingHealth will set up dedicated teams to drive three key projects over the course of three years, focused on integrating imaging data with AI, predictive data management to enable actionable insights, and optimising ICU capacities by boosting monitoring and patient assessment capabilities. As projects progress, the MoU’s scope may widen to include other areas of collaboration.

The first of the three projects will automate and streamline enterprise digital image workflows, including acquisition, storage, distribution, retrieval and archival processes. By centralising and modernising the architecture for radiology, pathology and other images for clinical practice, the project aims to standardise clinical access and enhance electronic medical records connectivity. Starting with radiology, the project will also explore the use of embedded AI to automate and integrate workflows.

The second project will see data analytics providing real-time, actionable insights to sharpen clinical decision-making. With integrated live stream clinical data as a foundation, the goal is to implement device interface models and introduce programmable AI and visualisation layers to support clinical care and enterprise storage. This capability, implemented at scale across the cluster, will be a springboard enabling SingHealth to develop more innovations in this space globally.

In the third project, clinical decision support tools and monitoring equipment will be used to optimise ICU capacity and enhance efficiency and care quality. A unified monitoring system, aligned with clinical workflows such as alarm assessments, will be established. The infrastructure will be co-designed to achieve interoperability, ensure cloud and cyber-security alignment, and support clinical workflow assessments. Additionally, AI-powered models and algorithms will be jointly developed to monitor developments in patients’ conditions, optimise alarm management, and deliver clinical parameter dashboards and avatars.

A key problem in the complexities of the healthcare system is the ability to access and integrate different data sources to form a cohesive patient story. Accurate and timely access to data at critical points in a patient’s journey is key in the digital transformation of the healthcare system. A report found that more than one-third of healthcare providers in Singapore are looking to external partnerships to use data analytics for more informed decision-making.

“We believe in harnessing the power of partnerships to address the healthcare needs of the Asia Pacific,” said Jasper Westerink, managing director for Dutch giant Philips (www.philips.com) in Apac. “By conducting thorough reviews of current capacities, processes and workflows, and thoughtfully integrating advanced technologies in a way that best supports staff, we are dedicated to improving healthcare outcomes and efficiency across this diverse and dynamic region. I’m excited about how our upcoming projects will positively impact patient care and digital healthcare innovation in the region, especially since SingHealth is Singapore’s largest healthcare group and has a track record of setting standards of excellence in patient-centred clinical care, and since Singapore is a key medical hub.”

Lawrence Loke, group chief information officer at SingHealth (www.singhealth.com.sg), added: “This collaboration between SingHealth and Philips is a big stride forward in accelerating healthcare innovation in Singapore. By combining our deep and broad range of clinical expertise with Philips’ cutting-edge technology, we are prioritising the needs of our patients in reimagining healthcare delivery. From smart ICUs to AI-driven diagnostics, our singular goal is to enhance patient outcomes and experiences. In our efforts to pilot transformative care models, we hope that our patients will receive personalised, timely and accessible care that is focused on achieving the best outcomes possible for them.”

With Singapore’s population set to become super-aged by 2026, and 21% of its population over the age of 65, the healthcare system faces mounting pressures. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of healthcare providers report that workforce shortages are leading to staff having less time with patients, higher patient-to-staff ratios and an increase in clinical errors.

They also identified workflow prioritisation as a key area for automation, which can help healthcare professionals manage high patient volumes without compromising on care quality. For instance, automated initial screening of medical images can help prioritise cases and direct them to the right sub-specialty radiologist. Similarly, automated triaging can assist emergency department staff, improving efficiency and reducing strain on personnel.

Around 84% of Singapore’s healthcare providers face data integration problems, which hamper their ability to deliver timely, high-quality care. The inability to use data fully has wide-ranging effects, from financial and operational concerns to limiting coordination between clinicians and reducing their time spent with patients. Overcoming barriers to integrate data accessibly across clinical operations, human resources and financials for reporting is therefore critical for continuous improvement, better decision-making and better patient empowerment.

• Philips and Mass General Brigham (www.massgeneralbrigham.org), home to one of the largest hospital system-based research enterprises in the USA, are collaborating to develop and deploy data infrastructure and AI designed to integrate and process live healthcare data from a wide range of sources to improve patient care.