On 24 November 2023, the Ministry of Health (“MOH“) issued a circular announcing the commencement of Phase 3 of the Healthcare Services Act (“HCSA“) on 18 December 2023.
By way of background, the HCSA was enacted in 2020 to replace the current Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act (“PHMCA“) to ensure that healthcare regulations remain relevant to the needs of the changing healthcare landscape in Singapore. The HCSA is being implemented progressively in three phases:
(a) Phase 1 involved clinical support services, such as clinical laboratory, radiological, emergency ambulance and medical transport services. It commenced on 3 January 2023.
(b) Phase 2 covered acute and community hospital services, outpatient medical and dental services (including tele-consultation and home medical or dental care by doctors and dentists), assisted reproduction services, ambulatory surgical centre services, human tissue banking services, nuclear medicine services and outpatient renal dialysis services. It commenced on 26 June 2023.
(c) Phase 3 will involve the last group of licensees regulated under the PHMCA, which are the nursing homes. With this phase being implemented, the PHMCA will be repealed on 18 December 2023.
Timelines to Observe for Licensing Transactions
Prior to the Phase 3 implementation of the HCSA, all existing HCSA licensees and Nursing Home providers should adhere to the following timelines for their licensing transactions in the Healthcare Application and Licensing Portal (“HALP“). The HALP is the new licensing system that will replace the current e-Licensing (“eLIS“) system for all HCSA licence applications and renewals.
(a) All existing HCSA licensees: The HALP will not be operational from 12 December 2023 (Tuesday), 1800 hours to 18 December 2023 (Monday), 0800 hours (“blockout period”). No applications can be submitted during this period. This is to support data migration activities during the transition period.
(b) HSCA Phase 3 licensees (i.e. Nursing Home Providers): There will be an eLis system blackout from 5 December 2023 (Tuesday), 1800 hours onwards and no applications can be submitted in eLis from there on:
- For licences expiring on and before 30 April 2024: Renewals must be submitted in eLis before 5 December 2023 (Tuesday), 1200 hours. No further action is required if the licence renewal has been submitted.
- For licences expiring on and after 1 May 2024: Renewals must be submitted in the new system, HALP, after 18 December 2023 (Monday), 0800 hours.
Licensing for Preventive Health Services
MOH had previously indicated that Preventive Health Services (“PHS“) will be regulated under the HCSA when Phase 3 of the HCSA is implemented. However, the present notice states that the licensing of PHS will be postponed to a later time since the regulations are not ready to be issued.
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