Singapore’s healthtech agency deepens tie with US tech giant on AI, cloud innovation

AI-powered innovations and secure cloud platform will help modernise and automate operations in public healthcare

Singapore’s Integrated Health Information Systems (IHiS) inked an agreement with Microsoft that will deepen their collaboration in generative AI and cloud innovation aimed at improving the day-to-day work experience of the workers and enhancing patient experience.

IHiS, the national healthtech agency of the city-state, and the US tech giant signed a memorandum of understanding on 7 July that includes the development of Secure GPT for medical professionals.

Powered by Azure OpenAI Service, the upcoming AI tool is expected to improve operational insights and help workers automate tasks. 

Azure, Microsoft’s public cloud computing platform, will also be used to automate and modernise Singapore’s public healthcare IT and security infrastructure, allowing  institutions to deliver care and scale up their operations with the help of advanced analytics, machine learning, and AI.

“The intelligent collaboration tools on cloud and AI-powered platforms will not just deliver greater convenience to clinicians, it will enable better focus on patient-centric work and change the way individuals take control of their health and health outcomes", said Ngiam Siew Ying, chief executive officer of IHiS.

The two organisations are also leveraging Microsoft 365 Cloud to foster greater collaboration among the medical institutions in the city-state, as well as create cross-learning opportunities like hosting conferences to boost the technical skills and knowledge within the industry. 

They are also expected to continue working together throughout the entire innovation lifecycle, from formation of ideas to deployment and promotions to boost adoption.

The MoU extends a long-term partnership between IHiS and Microsoft which have been collaborating over the past decade with a goal of improving experiences of patients and frontline healthcare workers.