Participation in National Electronic Health Record (NEHR) System

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Joan Pereira
MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC 

Question No. 1370 

To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider (i) requiring all laboratories to participate in the National Electronic Health Record system to upload patients' test results and (ii) providing trained personnel to general practitioners to encourage and assist them to participate in the system.

Written Reply 

1        Data contribution to the National Electronic Health Record (NEHR) is currently voluntary for all private healthcare licensees and the Ministry of Health (MOH) has been reaching out to healthcare providers to encourage participation.  To enhance patient safety and continuity of care, MOH is looking to mandate under the new Healthcare Services Bill that all licensed healthcare providers, including clinical laboratories, contribute data to the NEHR. 

2        In the meantime, public consultations are ongoing.  Dedicated teams have been set up and trained to engage various groups of licensees, including laboratories, hospitals and general practitioners, to better understand their concerns and needs, and provide relevant support and assistance.  We are also working with IT providers supporting Clinical Laboratories, Hospitals and GPs, to enable connections with NEHR.