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Singapore's healthcare sector is embracing artificial intelligence to enhance human capabilities and streamline operations, with Health Minister Ong Ye Kung stressing that the goal is to improve healthcare with AI, rather than implementing AI for its own sake.
Singapore’s healthcare landscape is on the cusp of a significant transformation, driven by the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI).
Speaking at Synapxe's inaugural AI conference on Monday (16 June 2025), Ngiam Siew Ying, CEO of Synapxe, highlighted the potential of AI to transform healthcare through predictive and personalised care, adding the organisation's vision for an "AI-ready healthcare" system.
In his opening address, Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health, emphasised the government’s pragmatic approach to AI. He stressed that the goal is to improve healthcare with AI, rather than implementing AI for its own sake. The focus, he explained, must be on practical use cases that yield measurable outcomes, such as enhancing diagnostic accuracy, accelerating treatment, improving prevention strategies, and boosting productivity for healthcare professionals.
Minister Ong reiterated that AI would augment, not replace, healthcare workers. Human judgment will remain vital for medical decisions, with AI serving as an enabler. Patient safety will always be a priority, with strong governance and safeguards in place.
He detailed foundational initiatives such as HEALIX (Health Empowerment through Advance Learning and Intelligent eXchange), designed as an "engine" for secure, anonymised data sharing to train AI models. Additionally, the development of a "sandbox" for AI software in medical devices, supported by robust clinical governance and cybersecurity, aims to foster innovation responsibly.
Real-world applications are already emerging. The Minister highlighted how AI was used for chest X-ray screenings at hospitals such as Changi General Hospital last year. Building on this, the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) will begin using chest X-ray AI to screen for tuberculosis this month, while Woodlands Health will implement imaging AI in its Emergency Department to detect bone fractures.
This capability will be progressively introduced across the public healthcare system, with the aim of establishing it as a national capability by end of 2026.
AI has also assisted over 2,100 healthcare workers in generating more than 16,000 medical and administrative notes, significantly improving efficiency.
Forging key alliances
At the event, Synapxe announced significant partnerships to further its AI ambitions. A collaboration agreement with OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, will explore how a multi-agentic framework can streamline everyday healthcare tasks. A prototype is already in development to facilitate services such as appointment booking and general health enquiries, with a strong emphasis on data privacy and exclusion from model training.
Another crucial Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with AIDX TECH. This alliance aims to identify AI risks, ensure safety and reliability in healthcare AI, and will involve joint innovation labs, best practice frameworks, and specialised training programs.
To enhance the national cloud-based analytics platform HEALIX, Synapxe also signed an MOU with Databricks, one that aims to promote AI adoption and skills transformation within public healthcare, fostering experimentation, co-developing predictive care use cases, and integrating Databricks' AI capabilities into HEALIX.
Finally, came an inked MOU with Google Cloud. This collaboration leverages Google Cloud's data and AI platform services, such as BigQuery, Vertex AI, and Agent2Agent Protocol, to enhance HEALIX and Tandem, Synapxe's Generative AI platform. This partnership also includes a comprehensive AI capacity-building initiative to train and certify more than 300 healthcare technology professionals across public healthcare institutions.
The dawn of agentic AI in Singapore's healthcare landscape
Image / Synapxe
The event saw Oliver Jay, Managing Director of International at OpenAI, and Christine Ang, Director of Data Analytics & AI-Services Planning at Synapxe, engage in a fireside chat on leveraging AI in the future of healthcare. In the session, Jay shared personal anecdotes, including using ChatGPT for diet tracking, explaining AI's potential for individual growth.
A key discussion point was the rise of "agents" in AI. "This year is the year of agents. They do not just answer questions, but can execute a task," Jay stated.
These are systems that can not only answer questions but also execute tasks. A prototype demonstrating a multi-agent AI framework for vaccination bookings showcased how AI can simplify complex healthcare processes, from checking availability to rescheduling appointments seamlessly.
The conversation also touched on AI's profound impact on both caregivers and care recipients. Jay highlighted how AI can serve as a "phenomenal companion" for patients navigating complex health journeys, making healthcare more approachable. From a provider's perspective, AI can assist healthcare workers from administrative burdens.
"If we can take administrative repetitive tasks out, there will be higher accuracy, more timely notes, and more patients can be seen."
For organisations looking to integrate cutting-edge AI, Jay offered three pieces of advice:
- Understand the unprecedented speed of AI's progress.
- Dedicate time to comprehend the technology, focusing on safe deployment of agents.
- Identify specific problems to solve, starting small and scaling up from there.
Building an AI-Ready culture
Image / Journalist's own
A separate panel session explored how to foster an "AI-Ready Culture: Transformation from Within."
The discussion began with Databricks highlighting examples of AI-driven collaborations in drug development and large-scale healthcare record integration, such as those involving major pharmaceutical companies and national health services. Open-source tools such as MLFlow and file formats such as Delta and Iceberg were championed to ensure AI system interoperability. As one expert put it, "If you don’t have a governance lineage and security story, you don’t have the ability to do AI at scale."
Building on the theme of infrastructure, Google Cloud shared initiatives such as AI Trailblazers and AI leadership programmes, as well as contributions to frameworks like the IMDA AI Verify. They also discussed the use of multi-cloud strategies, integrating platforms like AWS, Google Cloud (BigQuery, Vertex AI), Azure, and Ali Cloud to optimise AI deployment.
From a policy perspective, Ministry of Health (MOH) outlined a dual-pronged approach: a top-down AI Steering Committee to identify national scaling opportunities, and bottom-up support for cluster-specific projects such as improved appointment scheduling and transcription services. A four-category AI adoption strategy —covering clinical, clinical-ops interface, operations, and enablers — was also introduced. Emphasis was placed on patient privacy and the use of healthcare-specific AI tools such as Billy.sg, and platforms such as Helix, Tandem, and NGMR for electronic medical records.
From the education sector, it was shared how the Singapore Institute of Technology is cultivating “thinking thinkers” who can solve real-world problems with AI. This includes mandatory digital skills courses and interdisciplinary projects involving both staff and students. These efforts aim to address fears around job displacement and equip learners for an AI-driven future. As one panellist firmly stated: "A person will always remain in the loop and AI will only assist."
Throughout the session, the panel collectively emphasised the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration—particularly between clinicians and data scientists. They noted that healthcare remains “one of the least digital ready sectors” compared to industries like media and finance, and stressed the need for substantial investment in professional development to reduce fear and encourage uptake among frontline workers. Suggested actions included training Large Language Models (LLMs) on internal healthcare data, normalising everyday AI use, and increasing knowledge-sharing through events like the AI Accelerate conference.
On ethical considerations — especially patient privacy and consent — the panel agreed that responsibility must be shared between individuals and the system. Robust governance, strong data lineage, and security frameworks were highlighted as essential for scaling AI ethically, with organisations encouraged to ensure their partners’ solutions align with their own ethical standards.
While AI holds the potential to transform healthcare efficiency and accuracy, the panel’s overarching message was clear: the human element—anchored in empathy and judgement—must remain central. As summed up by a national leader, "Let us remain committed, considered, yet bold in harnessing AI to uplift patient care, empower healthcare professionals, uphold the ethos and essence of healthcare, and shape a future where everyone can live healthier, more fulfilling lives."
Lead image / Synapxe
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