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Independent Singapore
14-07-2025
- Health
- Independent Singapore
Woman warns against new scam involving polyclinic bills
SINGAPORE: A woman took to social media in a public service advisory of sorts, warning others after she received a sketchy text message. 'BEWARE! New kind of scam, was shocked when I saw this message because I didn't see any doctors in polyclinic/hospital recently. Checked with healthhub app, no outstanding bills,' she wrote in a post on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page on Friday (Jul 11). She added a screenshot of two such messages, one dated Jun 13 and the other from that day itself. The messages, which are exactly the same, read: 'Your NHGP (National Healthcare Group Polyclinics) bill is ready in the HealthHub app (Bill Number: # 0A25108372 #). Please make your payment if you have not done so. Thank you.' FB screengrab/ COMPLAINT SINGAPORE The messages had come from a sender called ACCOLADE. When a commenter wrote that this should raise suspicions, the post author answered that she had first thought it was the name of an agency. The commenter then wrote that when his friends receive text messages regarding hospital appointments, these have 'Singhealth' as the sender. Other commenters, however, expressed doubts that this is a scam. 'Usually if it's a scam, they give you a link to con you to click and pay, right?' one asked. 'How is it a scam? Probably an error, I guess someone is using your phone, no?' another commented. 'I am @ CGH now. The backend servers have broken down – self-service kiosks are not working, and payment services are having disruptions. This is not a scam, just IT-related issues across NHGP & SingHealth, it seems,' a third wrote. The post author pointed to the bill number included in the SMS and added that someone who is not alert may automatically make a payment. Another commenter wrote that they've received the same SMS. A quick search reveals that the post author is likely correct in assuming this is a scam. Sometime ago, Singapore General Hospital issued the following advisory : 'Spot Scam at SGH . A link can contain the words 'SGH,' 'SingHealth,' or 'HealthHub' and still be fake. Do not get lured to fake 'SGH' pages! You may get a message about promotions or payment for a medical bill. The link in the message takes you to a fake SGH, SingHealth, or HealthHub login page where you'll get scammed out of your money,' it reads. In a Jun 19 social media post, SGH also explained that it had been alerted by members of the public regarding possible scam calls, wherein the caller requested confirmation of appointments or outstanding medical bills and also sought personal information. The hospital urged people to ignore these calls and never give out personal information, including their name, identification number, contact details, credit card details, or OTP. /TISG Read also: TikTok scammer: Man, 76, loses S$55,500 to 'good-looking' woman who reached out to him
Straits Times
10-07-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
Forum: Some medical reports need customisation, so cannot automatically be on HealthHub
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox We thank Mr Cheong Weng Kit for his letter ' Make medical reports accessible on HealthHub ' (July 4). Today, patients can access various personal health information through HealthHub. This includes copies of discharge summaries, selected test results and immunisation records as well as medication records. These help patients better manage their health conditions and needs over time, and are available without charge. Occasionally, detailed medical reports may be needed, such as for employment screening or by insurers. These are typically customised according to how the report will be used, and may need specifics about the patient's current health conditions or medical history. These require effort on the part of the hospitals and doctors to prepare. Hence, they cannot be automatically made available on HealthHub and charges may be imposed. Patients can request these medical reports through HealthHub. We also hope that organisations requiring these reports can review if the standard ones available on HealthHub will serve their purposes. Patients who need more information on how to access their records can contact us through the HealthHub contact centre or by e-mailing contact_us@ . Colin Lim Chief Information Officer Ministry of Health
Straits Times
16-06-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
Slew of AI tools for Singapore's public healthcare in the works
Alexandra Hospital's reasearch team have come up with CareScribe, an AI tool that helps to shorten handover processes between nurses. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN Slew of AI tools for Singapore's public healthcare in the works SINGAPORE - A chatbot that breaks down the jargon in medical reports and an app that assesses one's health by analysing the photo of one's tongue are among a slew of artificial intelligence (AI) tools that the public sector is developing here. Showcased at the inaugural AI Accelerate conference organised by national healthcare tech provider Synapxe on June 16 , these innovations are poised to help patients and boost the productivity of healthcare workers. Synapxe provides tech solutions to all three public sector healthcare clusters - SingHealth, National Healthcare Group, and National University Health System - in Singapore. Here are some of the key projects. 1. HealthHub AI This AI assistant will be rolled out on national healthcare portal HealthHub 's website later in 2025 . The feature might be introduced on the app in the future, depending on feedback gathered from users. It will be able to answer healthcare-related and administrative questions from users in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Users can also enter their gender, age, and any pre-existing condition to receive a more tailored response. 'It serves as a convenient tool to enhance health literacy by improving access to credible, evidence-based information that is curated for Singapore's unique context,' said Mr Andy Ta, chief data officer and director of data analytics and AI at Synapxe. Information given to users are sourced from HealthHub's website, which contains content contributed by public healthcare agencies and workgroups such as the Health Promotion Board and National Medication Information Workgroup. 'It supports our public health goals by guiding users to relevant content quickly, helping them make informed decisions and ultimately encouraging better health outcomes,' said Mr Ta. A beta version has been available for use on HealthHub's website since April , and members of the public can give their feedback until the end of August . So far, frequently asked questions include subsidies on health screenings and vaccinations, and lifestyle tips. There are also plans to expand the range of supported languages, with Synapxe exploring the feasibility and stability of open-source and proprietary large-language models such as Sea-Lion developed by AI Singapore and Meralion developed by A*Star Institute for Infocomm Research. Meralion, developed using the national speech corpus , is able to understand at least eight regional languages including Singlish, and can understand multiple languages when spoken in the same sentence. Sealion supports 13 languages such as Thai and Vietnamese, and reflects the native characteristics of South-east Asia. Synapxe is also exploring a feature that lets users manage their appointment bookings via the AI assistant. Along with the new AI boost, there are also plans to unify HealthHub with cluster-specific apps - Health Buddy, NHG Cares and NUHS app - by 2027 into one platform to improve online accessibility of public healthcare services. 2. Lab Report Buddy Developed by Synapxe, this chatbot analyses medical lab reports uploaded by users and breaks down medical jargon, providing a comprehensible summary and explanation of the results. Lab Report Buddy aims to reduce the struggle that patients often face in understanding reports due to the limited consultation time to go over the details. For instance, a blood work report that contains results on haemoglobin and platelet levels might be displayed in numbers that are not interpreted. The chatbot would be able to summarise the results and inform the patient if the levels are considered low or high, and if a follow-up review with a doctor is necessary. The bot is also trained to avoid phrases that might cause panic, lead the patient to self-diagnose, or make assumptions about the patient's health status or medical history. The bot is being tested and validated in real-world settings at present . 3. Synseh An app is being developed to allow users to take a photo of their tongue and answer a few questions to receive wellness recommendations. Synseh will base its recommendations on the teachings of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). For instance, a tongue's colour, shape, coating and moisture level can provide insights into the condition of a patient's internal organs, the presence of pathogenic factors, and the flow of blood and Qi (life force). The app uses advanced computer vision techniques to detect subtle changes in tongue features. 'A pale tongue may indicate a deficiency in Qi or blood, while a red tongue might point to an excess of heat in the body,' said a Synapxe spokesperson. A physician would then be able to give advice on how to combat excess body heat, such as incorporating cooling fruits and vegetables into one's diet. The app is trained based on tongue photos that are openly sourced data, which are then labelled by physicians and lecturers from the Singapore College of TCM. The app is currently a proof-of-concept, and Synapxe said it is closely monitoring the outcome before making plans for further deployment. 'Tongue diagnosis is just a starting for us to venture into the TCM domain,' said the spokesperson. 'Through this, we hope to evaluate and gather feedback on the application of AI in TCM in Singapore.' 4. CareScribe It often takes up to one hour to hand over information about patients between nurses during shift changes. An AI tool called CareScribe , developed by Alexandra Hospital's Research Office team with the help of IT services and consulting firm Avanade , aims to make this process shorter and neater. 'Most handovers are currently conducted through verbal communication with handwritten documentation, which can present challenges in maintaining consistency and completeness,' said Dr Ravi Shankar, principal investigator and research fellow at Alexandra Hospital's medical affairs research office . CareScribe, which currently can be accessed via a webpage, allows nurses to upload photos or voice notes, which would then be transcribed and summarised in a structured format. Handover notes usually include information such as a patient's medical background, current condition, prescribed medication, acuity levels, fall risks, and clinical observations in unstructured paragraphs. The tool is able to organise information in an ABCDEFG template, which stands for acuity assessment, background history and behaviour, conditions and care plans, drugs, equipment, family and goals. Critical clinical information such as patient safety alerts, medication-related updates, and scheduled procedures would also be highlighted by the system. After having received approval by the ethics board recently, the tool is currently undergoing preliminary evaluation at Alexandra Hospital with a group of nursing staff. Any plans to integrate it with existing hospital systems will depend on research outcomes, security assessments, and institutional requirements, said Dr Shankar. 5. Healix (Health Empowerment thru Advanced Learning and Intelligent Exchange) Launched in May 2024, Healix is a cloud-based platform that all public healthcare professionals can use to accelerate the development of their AI projects. It consolidates data from across healthcare systems in Singapore, which are de-identified and encrypted. A range of tools and frameworks - such as pre-built algorithms and libraries and custom development options - are available for use to develop AI models. For example, the National University Health System (NUHS) used Healix to analyse de-identified medical data and trained an AI model to predict the near-term risk of diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia. 6. Aspire (AI-enabled Short Performance Physical Battery Evaluation) By getting patients to do a series of physical tests on camera, this AI-powered tool allows clinicians to screen for the prevalence and severity of frailty and sarcopenia. To assess for such conditions, patients are usually asked to do the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) evaluation, which would involve actions such as walking a set distance, sitting down and standing up five consecutive times, and balancing while standing. Aspire digitalises and semi-automates this test, which aims to make screening faster, less reliant on manpower, and more accessible. 'At this point, Aspire is still a research project and is undergoing clinical trials in Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and NHG polyclinics, and is used by clinicians within the healthcare facilities,' said associate professor Karen Chua, who is also a senior consultant at TTSH's rehabilitation centre. 'Future iterations could see this being scaled to community hospitals and partners, as well as caregivers to conduct the test remotely.' Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
16-06-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
AI to help doctors predict disease risk in next bound of Healthier SG: Ong Ye Kung
Mr Ong Ye Kung also outlined major national healthcare AI projects that the public can expect in the months to come. PHOTO: ST FILE AI to help doctors predict disease risk in next bound of Healthier SG: Ong Ye Kung SINGAPORE - National health records, socio-economic and genetic data may be used to support preventive care and social prescribing as the next bound of Singapore's Healthier SG programme. Announcing this at the inaugural AI Accelerate conference on June 16 , Mr Ong said that predictive artificial intelligence (AI), dubbed the next frontier in healthcare transformation, can help doctors predict if someone is likely to develop serious conditions many years in advance. 'This will be in the next bound of Healthier SG, leveraging health records, evidence-based clinical risk scoring and AI's predictive powers to support preventive care and social prescribing,' said Mr Ong at the conference organised by national healthcare tech provider Synapxe held at Punggol Digital District. But Mr Ong added that humans are still irreplaceable. 'We will continue to maintain the human touch through our family doctors, guiding and empowering residents to take charge of health outcomes before illness strikes,' he said, likening using AI with no doctors to flying a plane without a pilot. 'Likewise, while there is literature suggesting that AI provides better medical diagnosis and treatment plan than a doctor equipped with AI, I think most of us will still prefer the latter because we trust the human doctor who can empathise with our worries and concerns,' he said, noting that AI does not think, feel, hope, fear or empathise. Mr Ong also outlined major national healthcare AI projects that the public can expect in the months to come. By 2027, the national HealthHub app that holds citizens health records will be consolidated with apps from Singapore's three healthcare clusters - Health Buddy, NHG Cares App and NUHS App - to improve online accessibility of public healthcare services. 'We can enhance this new consolidated HealthHub with AI, so that the app can do more than manage health records, appointments, and bill payments,' he added. For instance, HealthHub AI can offer personalised health information, such as how to manage common health conditions, including through lifestyle changes. The advice will be conveyed through speech and text in four languages and in a conversational style. 'It is currently in beta and users' feedback has been promising,' said Mr Ong, adding Synapxe aims to launch this later this year. The public healthcare sector also plans to expand its use of AI for chest X-rays. It was used into NHG's Geylang Polyclinic to help prioritise cases so that patients with normal results can be managed more quickly. This month, the National Centre for Infectious Diseases will start to use chest X-ray AI to screen for tuberculosis. Similarly, Woodlands Health will start to use imaging AI in its emergency department to detect bone fractures, said Mr Ong. The capability will be rolled out progressively across the public healthcare system by end 2026, said Mr Ong. AI can expand human skills and ability to get more things done and better, but also subtracts the human experience of discovery and trial and error. It is important to fully leverage AI, but not become subservient to it, he added. Whether by coincidence or divine intervention, he said that AI is bursting into the scene just when human societies are experiencing an unprecedented process of ageing. 'Patient numbers are rising, with more complex and multiple conditions; healthcare systems are stressed; care is shifting to the community and patients' homes; prevention of diseases is taking centre stage,' he said. 'AI is a scientific gift to us to tackle the biggest social challenge of our time.' Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
09-06-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
Forum: Create a central health screening registry that all GPs can access
D espite years of public education and subsidised national programmes, Singapore's screening rates for cancers such as breast, cervical and colorectal cancer remain suboptimal. Screening for cardiovascular risk factors like hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes also sees low participation, particularly among older adults. With the launch of Healthier SG, I see a timely opportunity to close these gaps. General practitioners (GPs), as each enrollee's designated primary care provider, are ideally placed to offer personalised health advice and initiate timely screening. However, many GPs lack access to consolidated screening records, and are not notified when patients are due – or overdue – for national screening. As a result, crucial opportunities are often missed during routine consultations. These visits could otherwise be used to nudge patients towards essential preventive care. To address this, I propose a central screening registry integrated with GPs' electronic medical record systems. Such a registry should flag patients due for screening, prompt GPs during visits, and enable referrals with minimal friction. It should also track whether screening invitations have been sent, tests completed, and follow-ups conducted. This would ensure better continuity and accountability across the care pathway. I also believe artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance this effort. AI tools could identify patients likely to miss screenings based on age, medical history and behavioural patterns. This would allow GPs to prioritise outreach and follow-up more effectively. Patients could also receive personalised reminders through HealthHub or SMS, reinforcing their doctor's advice. Naturally, such systems must uphold strong data protection standards and be clinically validated. Healthier SG represents a shift from reactive to proactive healthcare. But to make that vision a reality, GPs need more than responsibility – they need the right infrastructure. By combining trusted relationships in primary care with data-driven tools, we could boost screening uptake, detect diseases earlier, and ultimately reduce long-term healthcare costs to add years of healthy life to the population of Singapore. Ang Yee Gary (Dr) More on this Topic Forum: What readers are saying Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
