Integrated Health Information Systems

Synapxe Pte Ltd (formerly known as Integrated Health Information System, IHiS), is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MOH Holdings Pte Ltd, the holding company through which the Singapore Ministry of Health owns corporatised institutions in the public healthcare sector. Synapxe describes itself as Singapore's national HealthTech agency and provides health information and information technology-related services.

History

IHiS was founded in 2008 by the Ministry of Health, Singapore.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore, IHiS developed several healthtech projects including, the Command, Control, and Communications (C3) System'','' which was co-developed with Tan Tock Seng Hospital, a healthtech project that provides real-time visibility on patient flow, staff deployment and inventory in a public hospital, giving an overview of the situation to decision makers. Key dashboards and monitors enable them to coordinate and provide better care for patients at a systemic level.

One of the projects was the GPConnect system which was transferred to IHiS following the merger of Information Systems Division (ISD) of MOH Holdings and IHiS in November 2016. GPConnect system is an integrated IT system that comprises a Clinic Management System (CMS) and an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system originally developed under ISD to support daily GP clinic operations.

In January 2021, GPConnect was adopted and deployed within 2 weeks as the national EMR system for Singapore's COVID-19 vaccination operations (VacOps). As well the VacOps program which was established to support Singapore's vaccination operations VacOps, with an aim to deploy various HealthTech solutions to multiple vaccination centers, public health preparedness clinics and polyclinics. IHiS also tech-enabled mobile vaccination teams to visit community care facilities such as nursing homes and residential facilities.

In 2023, it is reported that IHiS will move out of its current premises to Elementum, located at Biopolis, One-north, Singapore.

On 27 July 2023, IHiS was renamed as Synapxe.

Products

National Electronic Health Record

The National Electronic Health Record (NEHR) is a secure system that collects and organizes patient health care records into a single system and is managed by IHiS. This gives authorised healthcare professionals a holistic picture of a patients’ healthcare history. NEHR has become the digital backbone of Singapore’s healthcare system and a critical node for continuity of care.

Outpatient Pharmacy Automation System

The Outpatient Pharmacy Automation System (OPAS) is the first system in the region to integrate seven different multi-disciplinary technologies and robotics to automate pharmacy processes of sorting, packing and dispensing a variety of drugs including blister packs, boxes and loose tablets into one complete system. The OPAS system has clinched the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) Global ICT Excellence Awards, 2021 - Runner-Up of the Innovative eHealth Solutions Award (Public Sector).

HealthHub

In 2015, IHiS established the HealthHub, a web portal and mobile application for national health information and services. It allows Singaporeans to view evidence-based health and wellness information, access health records, and perform transactions across public healthcare clusters such as appointments, bill payments and refilling of medication.

Incidents

2018 data breach

Personal particulars of 1.5 million SingHealth patients and records of medicines dispensed to outpatients, affecting a total of 160,000 such patients, were stolen in a cyberattack occurring between 27 June and 4 July 2018. Information relating to the names, National Registration Identity Card numbers, addresses, dates of birth, and race and gender of patients who visited specialist outpatient clinics and polyclinics between 1 May 2015 and 4 July 2018 was maliciously accessed and copied. Information relating to patient diagnosis, test results and doctors' notes were unaffected. Information on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was specifically targeted.

In response, IHiS had strengthened public health systems against data breaches. 19 measures were put in place, including two-factor authentication for all administrators, proactive threat hunting and intelligence, allowing only computers with latest security updates on hospital networks, and a new database activity monitoring.

A Committee of Inquiry was convened for the SingHealth breach and subsequently released a report. After the release of the report, IHiS dismissed two employees and demoted one for being negligent in handling and misunderstanding the attack respectively, with financial penalties imposed on two middle management supervisors, and five members of the senior management including CEO Bruce Liang. Three employees were commended by IHiS for handling the incident diligently even when not part of their job scope. IHiS has since fast-tracked a suite of 18 measures for enhancing cybersecurity. The Personal Data Protection Commission fined IHiS $750,000 and SingHealth $250,000 for not doing enough to safeguard personal data under the Personal Data Protection Act, making it the largest fine imposed for data breaches.

Subsequently, on 6 March 2019, cybersecurity company Symantec identified a state-sponsored group, known as Whitefly, behind the cyberattack. Although the country is not identified, that group has been found to be behind several related cyberattacks against Singapore-based entities since 2017.

Recognitions

* Singapore Computer Society Tech Leader Awards 2022 (Digital Achievers – Team) for PRPP.
* Singapore Computer Society Tech Leader Awards 2022 (Digital Achievers – Team) for GPConnect.
* Singapore Computer Society Enterprise Architecture Awards 2021 - Digital Transformation and Innovation.
* Singapore 100 Women in Tech List – Sylvia Wong, Director, Digital & Integration Services at IHiS.
* Singapore 100 Women in Tech List – Susan Lee, Chief Information Officer at Singapore General Hospital.
* 2021 World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) Global ICT Excellence Awards - Runner-Up of the Innovative eHealth Solutions Award (Public Sector).
* SCS IT Leaders Awards 2021 (Infrastructure) for helping Singapore scale-up COVID-19 testing.
* SCS IT Leaders Awards 2021 (Entrepreneurship) for iThermo development.
* SCS IT Leaders Awards 2021 (Infrastructure) for TTSH-NCID COVID-19 HealthTech enablement.

Publications

IHiS and its employees have been involved in the publication of several research papers, including;

*
*
*
*
*
*

References

External links

Official website

Healthcare in Singapore
Health care companies of Singapore

{{DEFAULTSORT:Synapxe