2. Healthcare services regulation and licensing
The Healthcare Services Act was enacted to regulate the delivery of various healthcare services in Singapore.
Last updated on 6 October 2026
The Healthcare Services Act (HCSA) was enacted in 2020 to replace the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act (PHMCA) to ensure that healthcare regulation is kept up to date with new models of care, such as mobile care and virtual care. HCSA provides a more flexible approach in the regulation of Singapore’s healthcare system from a premises-based to a services-based framework.
Under the HCSA, a risk-based regulatory approach is applied to determine the healthcare services to regulate under HCSA. There are currently 16 healthcare services regulated under the HCSA and healthcare providers who offer any of these services in Singapore will need to hold the relevant HCSA licences before offering the service.
These 16 healthcare services include the following:
Acute Hospital Service
Ambulatory Surgical Centre Service
Assisted Reproduction Service
Blood Banking Service
Clinical Laboratory Service
Community Hospital Service
Cord Blood Banking Service
Emergency Ambulance Service
Medical Transport Service
Human Tissue Banking Service
Nuclear Medicine Service
Nursing Home Service
Outpatient Dental Service
Outpatient Medical Service
Outpatient Renal Dialysis Service
Radiological Service
For more information, please visit HCSA's website (opens in new tab).
Apply for licences under HCSA at Healthcare Application and Licensing Portal (opens in new tab).