eHealth

Introduction

Singapore's Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) has played a pioneering role in implementing eHealth solutions across the nation's armed forces. With over 100,000 full-time National Servicemen (NSmen) and Active Duty Personnel (ADP) to care for, MINDEF recognised early on the strategic importance of digitising healthcare records and services to boost operational effectiveness.

Since first introducing electronic health records (EHR) in the 1990s, MINDEF has steadily built one of the most advanced military eHealth systems in Asia. Through close partnerships with the Health Promotion Board (HPB) and public hospitals, MINDEF has spearheaded digital innovations custom-tailored for military needs. This includes specialised deployment health platforms, force-wide chronic disease registries, and telehealth capabilities for remote bases.

This article examines the evolution and achievements of MINDEF's eHealth transformation journey to date. It explores key areas of focus, ongoing initiatives, and systems that form the digital backbone of healthcare support for SAF servicemen. Challenges overcome and future directions are also analysed, making MINDEF an exemplar for optimised military medical management through innovative use of technology.

Early Adoption and EHR Systems

MINDEF has a long history with computerization, automating various administrative processes from the 1980s for increased efficiency. Recognizing healthcare's importance to operational readiness, MINDEF began digitalizing medical records in 1992 with a mainframe-based system.

In 1997, this transitioned to a client-server Electronic Health Records (EHR) system called RESPECT (Records, Electronic System for Primary Healthcare in Enhanced Collaboration and Training). Servicemen's clinical charts, examination notes, lab results, and medication prescriptions became digitally accessible to authorized defense medical personnel.

RESPECT significantly improved workflows and coordination across polyclinics and hospitals under the Ministry of Health (MOH). Physical transfer of paper files was eliminated. E-prescriptions expedited specialist referrals and medicine dispersal. In the early 2000s, RESPECT became web-enabled to allow remote access from supported internet browsers as well.

Subsequent upgrades added immunization tracking, Integrated Syndromic Surveillance system alerts, and templates optimizing chronic disease management. By 2010, MINDEF developed ForceMedicare, a comprehensive EHR jointly run with MOH containing all SAF healthcare records via RESPECT’s backend. This formed the technical foundation enabling wider eHealth initiatives.

Deployment Health Systems

Overseeing servicemen's health while deployed locally or overseas presented unique challenges. MINDEF spearheaded customized digital solutions to bolster the deployment of healthcare.

Introduced in 2004, the Deployment Health Surveillance System (DHSS) digitally monitors servicemen for infectious diseases pre and post overseas operations. Vaccination records, health screening results, and temporary restrictions are integrated for swift risk assessments and pre-deployment clearances.

To support medical care while training in remote jungles or islands, MINDEF rolled out field force tablets running its Field Force Medical Information System (FFMIS) app in 2014. FFMIS digitizes point-of-care documentation, automated mission briefings including health hazards, and enabled teleconsultations from mobile satellite connectivity.

For large-scale exercises, MINDEF works closely with partner nations to set up deployment health portals facilitating the exchange of pre-deployment forms, rosters, and post-mission health statistics for epidemiological analysis. Such cross-border eHealth collaboration strengthens regional disaster response preparedness.

eHealth Telehealth Initiatives

Given the SAF's widespread setup of healthcare facilities within and outside Singapore, MINDEF has actively pursued telehealth applications. Early Video Tele-Consultation (VTC) pilots began in 2002 with positive feedback on quality and convenience from both clinicians and patients.

In 2013, the SAF Telehealth Network (SAFTHnet) was launched island-wide to enhance specialist care access for servicemen in remote islands and training areas. Secure high-definition VTC systems connect MINDEF polyclinics, restructured hospitals, and specialists for virtual consultations using high-speed Defence Internet. This was later complemented by the ‘Virtual Clinic’ internet-based consultation system.

Having proved telehealth's clinical effectiveness, MINDEF partnered with MOH to establish the first Tele-Pharmacy pilots dispensing medications intelligently via digitally-verified prescriptions in 2016. Plans are in place to evaluate remote monitoring of chronic diseases using mHealth devices paired with SAF’s strong 4G/5G network coverage.

Such innovations have significantly optimized limited medical resources at far-flung SAF facilities. They also support aftercare transition and reservist health screenings. MINDEF continues advancing telehealth's role in the military healthcare delivery model.

Informatics and Health Registries

Advanced data analytics and registries are vital for population health management across the SAF’s large service beneficiary base. MINDEF developed specialized data warehousing and informatics applications as well:

The SAF Registry of Diseases collates de-identified deployment and hospitalization statistics for threat prioritization, epidemiological mapping, and research utilization with strict privacy safeguards.

Military Informatics Applications support strategic planning through analysis of polyclinic workloads, operational requirements, and long-term health trends down to the individual serviceman level.

The SAF Medical Statistics Dashboard allows real-time monitoring of key performance indicators like bed occupancy, specialist outpatient utilisation rates, and chronic disease caseloads for improved resource optimisation.

Advanced analytics models like predictive risk engines are applied to the Chronic Disease Management System registry of over 10,000 servicemen with diabetes, hypertension etc. for proactive case identification, flagging, and intervention.

Such data-driven initiatives form a core pillar of MINDEF’s digital transformation effort to integrate healthcare planning with military operations at an unprecedented level of granularity and insight.

eHealth Collaboration and Partnerships

MINDEF recognises no single agency can succeed alone in modernising military healthcare. Sustained collaboration has been crucial, including:

MOH: Joint development of the National Electronic Health Record (NEHR) to securely link SAF records within the national health data backbone, expediting seamless tertiary referrals.

Public Hospitals: Military doctors train and practice alongside peers at KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital etc. via Memorandums of Understanding strengthening skills transfer.

International Partners: Exchanges under structured programmes build an understanding of other nations' military medical approaches through workshops, facility visits, and involvement in multilateral exercises.

Academia: Research tie-ups with the SAF Medical Board, NMRC, and tertiary institutions harness innovations in genomics, AI, medical robotics, etc. for futureproofing the SAF's clinical capabilities.

Such multifaceted cooperation has multiplier effects beyond just budgets, positively shaping inter-agency coordination as well as knowledge and standards in military healthcare overall.

Challenges MINDEF faced during the implementation of their eHealth initiatives

Interoperability between different legacy IT systems: Integrating medical records and data across MINDEF facilities and with external partners like MOH hospitals required overcoming issues of different systems not being able to communicate properly.

Hardware and infrastructure limitations: Early digitalization efforts would have been constrained by the availability of devices like computers and network bandwidth, especially in remote field settings.

Change management for clinicians: Getting doctors accustomed to new digital workflows and record-keeping took time and resources for training. Some resisted losing their traditional paper records.

Data security and privacy concerns: MINDEF had to ensure strict protocols and technologies to protect sensitive military health records from cyber threats or unauthorised access.

Limited technical expertise internally: building specialised eHealth systems required recruiting or developing highly qualified IT staff familiar with healthcare informatics.

Cost of ongoing system upgrades: Sustaining cutting-edge solutions involved substantial long-term budgets for maintenance, hardware refreshes, and integrating new features.

Lack of proven best practices: As an early military adopter, MINDEF had to develop systems with limited examples to learn from and refine them iteratively based on feedback.

Engaging busy clinicians and end-users: Usability testing and user adoption depended on clinician and patient participation which was challenging due to their operational commitments.

Regulations and reimbursement policies: Certain digital initiatives required navigation of regulatory complexities and dealing with insurance and billing policies.

Overcoming these challenges through perseverance and partnerships has made MINDEF a leader in military eHealth today.

eHealth interoperability issues

Developed standards and guidelines: They worked with partners like MOH to develop common data-sharing standards and directives to ensure systems could communicate effectively.

Used standardised healthcare terminologies and formats: MINDEF mandated the use of standardised medical coding systems and messaging structures like HL7 to represent data consistently across platforms.

Built connector interfaces: They engineered custom interface engines and middleware applications to allow disparate systems to interact and translate data between each other's protocols.

Partnered with vendors: MINDEF collaborated with their various IT vendors to integrate platforms, upgrade legacy ones, or develop new centralised repositories following interoperability best practices.

Engaged in pilot testing: Early eHealth projects involved proof-of-concept testing between different facilities and partners to identify issues before larger rollouts.

Used centralised clinical records systems: systems like ForceMedicare facilitated data exchange by hosting all records through standardised APIs accessible to authorised stakeholders.

Phased legacy system replacements: Over time, MINDEF performed strategic upgrades or replacements of the oldest systems that were obstacles to harmonisation plans.

Participated in standard-setting bodies: This helped influence specifications and address compatibility challenges proactively based on MINDEF's own experiences.

Through these measures, MINDEF gradually but systematically overcame initial interoperability hurdles to achieve its vision of integrated military healthcare delivery.

MINDEF ensures data security and privacy

Encrypted all data transmissions between systems using strong encryption standards like TLS.

Implemented role-based access controls to restrict which users or systems could access what type of sensitive data.

Ensured all connected systems met stringent information security requirements and audits.

Used system user authorization and authentication methods like digital certificates to verify identity.

Established clearly defined data-sharing agreements outlining usage restrictions with partners.

Anonymized and aggregated data where possible for public health tracking to prevent re-identification.

Conducted privacy impact assessments when designing new interconnected capabilities.

Trained personnel on secure practices for handling records and devices storing personal information.

Implemented measures like system logging, monitoring, and alerts to detect any unauthorised access attempts.

Subjected connected infrastructure to regular vulnerability testing and updates to seal vulnerabilities.

Sought advice from privacy commissioners when navigating novel issues arising from initiatives.

Published security policies and collected documented user consent for compliant data sharing.

Through a multi-layered "defense-in-depth" approach, MINDEF ensured strong safeguards balanced its needs for an integrated yet private and secure eHealth ecosystem.

eHealth Challenges and Future Directions

While immense progress has been achieved, MINDEF acknowledges further work lies ahead to fully realise eHealth's potential benefits:

Ensuring the user-friendliness of specialised systems for on-field usage conditions in remote settings.

Mitigating interoperability issues that may arise as third parties upgrade independent health IT infrastructure.

Addressing privacy and cybersecurity risks accompanying the expansion of telehealth and data sharing across borders.

Overcoming doctors' hesitancy towards certain digital solutions through sustained training and experience of validated clinical impacts.

Bridging digital divides among different generations of servicemen with varied technological affinity.

Futureproofing investments through proactively piloting disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, virtual/augmented reality, and remote physiological monitoring.

MINDEF will continue deepening partnerships, refreshing manpower competencies, evaluating emerging applications, and optimising systems judiciously based on evidence, all with the serviceman firmly at the centre of future eHealth strategies. Its leadership will remain vital in demonstrating to the region the transformational benefits of a digitally empowered military force.