Singapore healthcare leads the world in embracing AI: Royal Philips

Singapore is leading the way in championing artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, according to research from Royal Philips. The global health technology provider recently released its Future Health Index (FHI) 2021 Singapore report: A Resilient Future: Healthcare leaders look beyond the crisis.

Source: Royal Philips. Future Health Index (FHI) 2021 Singapore report.

Now in its 6th year, the Future Health Index 2021 report is based on proprietary research across 14 countries, including Singapore. The report found that over seven in 10 of Singapore’s healthcare leaders (71%) say that AI is one of the digital health technologies that they are currently investing in, above the average healthcare leader across the 14 countries surveyed (36%) and in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC, comprising Australia, China, India, and Singapore, 46%).

"Healthcare leaders in Singapore are open-minded and increasingly looking at partnerships with a range of B2B and B2C healthcare companies as a way to drive digital transformation within their hospitals and healthcare facilities. As they do this, they are also wary of the need to balance innovation with concerns over data security and privacy," stated the report's authors.

AI investment in Singapore is currently focused primarily on administrative tasks like automating documentation, scheduling appointments and improving workflow, above clinical and diagnostic applications. However, Singapore’s healthcare leaders plan to invest in AI for clinical decision support (35%), to predict outcomes (33%) and to integrate diagnostics (28%).

Despite these bold ambitions, staff inexperience and staff shortages could impede progress if not urgently addressed. Philips’ research found that staff’s lack of experience with new technologies ranks among the top internal barriers to future planning in Singapore, with around half of Singapore’s healthcare leaders (52%) citing it as a current impediment, whilst one in four (25%) say that staff shortages are also holding them back.

Lack of training is also cited as the biggest barrier to the wider adoption of digital health technologies by nearly half of Singapore’s healthcare leaders (47%), followed closely by difficulties with data management (43%) likely relating to high volumes of data and a lack of clarity around ownership.

“The pandemic has confirmed the viability of remote care, and it is equally encouraging to see that Singapore is placing such a big focus on AI for the future. However, it is vital that the country’s hospitals and healthcare facilities invest in adequate training and address staff shortages to move beyond purely administrative applications of these game-changing technologies and unlock their full potential,” said Caroline Clarke, Market Leader and EVP, Philips ASEAN Pacific.