Debated in Parliament on 8 May 2023.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry has explored the credibility of AI-based diagnostic solutions; and (b) if so, what are the regulatory considerations that will be most important if there are more widespread adoption of such technologies.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is ubiquitous and being used in healthcare in Singapore. For example, it is used in JARVISDHL, a programme by SingHealth and NUS to prevent diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia. It is the engine for SELENA+ (Singapore Eye LEsioN Analyzer plus) to diagnose diabetic retinopathy. It is also used for diagnosis and management of cardiovascular and chronic diseases. It is deployed in health apps for preventive care, as well as in pharmaceutical research.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) is open to the use of AI technologies in healthcare where they are proven to be safe, clinically efficacious and cost-effective. With the rapid advancement of AI technology, we believe many treatments using AI will emerge. The challenge is to embrace and encourage them, while ensuring the safe adoption and deployment of AI in healthcare. To do so, we have progressively put in place safeguards over the past few years.
The MOH’s AI in Healthcare Guidelines guide AI Medical Device (AI-MD) developers and implementers on the good practices they should adopt in rolling out such clinical services to patients.
MOH will be issuing an AI Governance Framework for healthcare that recommends detailed development and implementation-level good practices, such as risk prompts to help identify risks, and controls for risk mitigation.
The Bioethics Advisory Committee has also issued a draft advisory report and recommendations on the ethical use of big data and AI in human biomedical research on 2 May 2023 for public consultation.
MOH will continue to study international best practices, consolidate and develop our AI governance framework.
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