Intervention By Minister For Health Mr Ong Ye Kung At The G20 Health Ministerial Meeting, In Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

1.            Thank you, Chair for your hospitality and impeccable organisation of this G20 Meeting, and for leading member states to a consensus on the two Ministerial Declarations.

2.            Many issues, pertinent ones, have been identified. But let me just talk about one of them, which is the digitalisation of healthcare. In an earlier phase of human development, we measured success in healthcare by lifespan. Now, it is far more important to monitor health span, and the gap between health span and lifespan.

3.            That also means that building health for people in the community is just as important as treating sickness in hospitals and clinics. This means healthcare will involve many settings, from hospitals to clinics, to rehabilitation centres, to pharmacies, to home care.

4.            Patients’ medical records must be therefore flow seamlessly between all these settings for care to be continual and seamless. It eliminates frustrating and unnecessary repeated testing and screening. It also enables AI health innovations.

5.            But digitalisation and integration of medical records are a major undertaking, and I think there are three tasks ahead.

6.            First, we need to integrate disparate electronic record systems throughout our countries. In this regard, Singapore has developed one single national electronic medical record system.

7.            Second, we need to mandate the contribution to, and use of, the national electronic health record system. It is only useful when there is universal subscription, and Singapore intends to pass legislation in early 2025 to effect this.

8.            Third, we need to address concerns about data security and privacy, even as we want data to flow seamlessly. This depends greatly on the level of trust people have in our healthcare jurisdictions, and that their identifiable data will be well safeguarded, and used only to improve their wellbeing and care.

9.            It is only with trust that we can achieve a quantum leap in the quality of health. It is also only with trust that the G20 Health Ministerial Meeting continues to strengthen health systems of the world. Thank you.