The Health Information Bill (“Bill“) was tabled for Second Reading and passed by Parliament on 12 January 2026. When enacted, the Health Information Act will govern the sharing of key health information across Singapore’s healthcare ecosystem for better coordinated care.
We previously released an article discussing the key features of the Bill. To view this, please refer to our November 2025 NewsBytes article titled “Health Information Bill Introduced to Establish Framework for the Safe Collection, Access, Use, and Sharing of Health Information“.
Background
Singapore’s rapidly ageing population and rising life expectancy have contributed to a growing burden of chronic conditions that require sustained, well‑coordinated care. To support this, healthcare delivery has been focused on community care, with more services brought closer to where patients live.
As patients interact with a wider range of healthcare providers, ensuring consistent and seamless access to key health information has become increasingly essential. While the National Electronic Health Record (“NEHR“), the national repository of health information, already supports information-sharing within much of the public healthcare system, several segments of healthcare providers, including private clinics, clinical and radiological laboratories and dental clinics, remain largely outside of the network. This may potentially impede the delivery of holistic healthcare solutions to the general population.
Compulsory Sharing of Health Information to the NEHR
To address these gaps, the Bill makes it compulsory for all licensed healthcare providers to contribute key health information such as allergies, vaccinations, diagnoses, medications, laboratory test results, radiological images and discharge summaries, to the NEHR.
By facilitating more coordinated care, providing enhanced quality of care, and reducing healthcare costs, the Bill will help achieve the national goal of ‘One Patient, One Health Summary, One Care Journey’.
Safeguards Governing NEHR Access
The Bill introduces legislative safeguards to complement existing technical controls. NEHR access remains strictly controlled, with legislative and technical safeguards. Its access is allowed only for patient care purposes. This means only healthcare providers and healthcare professionals directly involved in a patient’s care will be able to contribute and access NEHR information. These include doctors, nurses, pharmacists and allied health professionals. Access for employment or insurance purposes is prohibited, except where required or permitted by law.
Patients can monitor access by healthcare providers to their NEHR information via the HealthHub app. Moreover, they can report any unauthorised access to the Ministry of Health (“MOH“). They can also place Access Restrictions through HealthHub to limit which providers may view their NEHR information.
Sharing Non‑NEHR Information to Facilitate Community-based Care
The Bill aims to support community health initiatives, including those for vulnerable seniors, as follows:
- enabling healthcare clusters to share necessary contact information with the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) for purposes of engaging and providing befriending services or care to vulnerable seniors; and
- strengthening programmes such as Healthier SG and Age Well SG.
Protection of Health Information
Healthcare providers that contribute to or access the NEHR, as well as entities authorised to share or receive non‑NEHR health information, must comply with stringent cybersecurity and data protection standards. These measures ensure secure storage, access, use and sharing of health information, and timely reporting of any confirmed cybersecurity incidents or data breaches to MOH.
Implementation Timeline
The Bill is targeted to commence in early 2027 to give healthcare providers ample time to understand its requirements and enhance their cybersecurity and data security measures. Training, resources and funding support will be provided to help healthcare providers meet the new requirements and obligations.
Click on the following links for more information (available on the MOH website at www.moh.gov.sg):
- MOH Press Release titled “Health Information Bill to Support Coordinated Care Across Singapore’s Healthcare Ecosystem”
- Opening Speech by Mr Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State, MDDI & MOH, for the Second Reading of the Health Information Bill
- Closing Speech by Mr Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State, MDDI & MOH, for the Second Reading of the Health Information Bill
Disclaimer
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