Forum: Mandate private sector to submit data to centralised health record system
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The Singapore vision of “One Patient, One Health Record” started way back in the 1990s.
The National Electronic Health Record (NEHR) vision is laudable and achievable, especially for a small country like Singapore, with a private sector that is disciplined and quick to align itself with new government policy.
The idea is simple. All health records of every Singaporean, as well as PRs and other residents, will be stored in one place – irrespective of where they originated from in Singapore. This allows a doctor to get a holistic view of a patient’s health history when consulted on a new matter by the patient.
If the data security and privacy issues are handled well, this system can really help in individual ownership of our own preventive health journey too.
The NEHR was established in 2011. Why is it that it has not become mandatory for all private clinics and hospitals to supply patients’ medical records to the NEHR?
Surely there has been more than enough time given to get organised for this?
As I use a combination of private and public services, my doctors are often unable to see my full history when I consult them.
Also, why is a patient not allowed to see all his own records and medical history? The records can be easily and safely made accessible through Singpass.
By having access to their medical history, people would be able to see trends in key metrics that can make them take better care of themselves by starting to exercise or take other preventive health measures.
The patient would also be able to see if something has been left out of his health record and the Ministry of Health can be alerted to the missing submissions by various clinics and hospitals.
It is time to make it mandatory for all private clinics, labs and hospitals to routinely submit all medical records to the NEHR, and to give patients access to their own records through Singpass.
Rahul Patwardhan
