Virtual care and AI systems highlighted in EGH Campus Smart Hospital Roadmap

The campus will have flexible, tech-enabled facilities.

The Eastern General and Community Hospitals, collectively known as the Eastern General Hospital (EGH) Campus, has unveiled its Smart Hospital Roadmap.

The roadmap focuses on three pillars—Smart Care, Smart Operations and Smart Infrastructure—to improve healthcare delivery, strengthen operations and support future healthcare needs through digital technology.

Smart Care aims to improve patient outcomes through technology and virtual healthcare. EGH has begun treating patients through SingHealth@Home, supporting Changi General Hospital’s Mobile Inpatient Care (MIC)@Home programme.

The service allows patients with stable medical conditions to receive treatment at home instead of staying in the hospital.

EGH specialists are also conducting Virtual Professional Consultations (VPC) with primary care doctors across seven specialties, including cardiology, gastroenterology and respiratory medicine, to support clinical decision-making for complex cases in the community.

The hospital has also started a telehealth pilot with Vanguard Healthcare, where specialists provide remote clinical advice to medical teams in five nursing homes to help manage residents’ conditions and reduce unnecessary hospital visits.

Smart Operations focuses on improving efficiency through digitalisation, automation and artificial intelligence.

One example is an AI-powered referral system developed by SingHealth Community Hospitals to support patient transfers between care settings, such as from acute hospitals to community hospitals. The system could save more than 170 man-hours each month by reducing manual assessments.

Smart Infrastructure will support these initiatives through digitally enabled facilities. Planned features include real-time location systems to track equipment, staff and patient flow, as well as flexible hospital spaces that can be adapted as healthcare needs change.

EGH is also partnering with Mandai X to develop “phygital” healing spaces, combining physical and digital nature elements to create calming environments for patients, caregivers and healthcare staff.

Associate Professor Gan Wee Hoe, pro tem CEO of EGH and CEO of SingHealth Community Hospitals, said future hospitals must be both high-tech and high-touch as Singapore’s population ages.

The EGH Campus Health Fest, a community healthcare event, is expected to draw more than 2,000 healthcare professionals, partners and members of the public.