Eastern General Hospital outlines smart hospital roadmap ahead of 2029 opening
Singapore’s Eastern General Hospital (EGH) has outlined plans to become a digitally enabled, community‑centred hospital as it prepares for opening from 2029. Speaking at the Eastern General Hospital Campus Health Fest, Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How described how digital care models, smarter operations and community partnerships will support an ageing population in the eastern region. The roadmap reflects broader national health strategies aimed at shifting care beyond hospitals and closer to where people live.
Preparing healthcare capacity for an ageing East
EGH is being developed alongside a community hospital to complement existing services provided by Changi General Hospital. Mr Tan noted that demand pressures are already evident, particularly in mature estates such as Bedok, Marine Parade and parts of Tampines, which have higher proportions of older residents.
Nationally, Singapore is entering what has been described as a “super‑aged” phase, with more than 21% of residents aged 65 and above, rising to one in four by 2030. Longer life expectancy is also associated with more complex care needs, including chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes.
Shifting care into the community
While hospitals remain central to acute care, Mr Tan emphasised the importance of moving towards coordinated, community‑based models. This includes prevention, rehabilitation and long‑term condition management, supported by social and community partners.
The EGH Campus team has already begun working with senior activity centres, active ageing centres and voluntary welfare organisations. Examples include health education programmes with Montfort Care and the development of a community wellness hub in Chai Chee with Filos Community Services and Changi General Hospital.
These efforts align with national initiatives such as Healthier SG and Age Well SG, and reflect wider policy thinking on building integrated care ecosystems, as explored in Singapore’s push towards an AI‑enabled future for healthcare.
A three‑pillar smart hospital roadmap
At the event, EGH unveiled its smart hospital roadmap, structured around three pillars: Smart Care, Smart Operations and Smart Infrastructure. The approach is intended to enhance care delivery without replacing the human role of clinicians and caregivers.
Smart Care through virtual and digital services
Under Smart Care, EGH is already participating in initiatives such as SingHealth’s Mobile Inpatient Care (MIC)@Home programme, which allows patients to receive hospital‑level care at home. Virtual Professional Consultations also enable specialists to support polyclinics and GP clinics managing cases in the community.
Telehealth pilots are extending specialist support to nursing homes, while digital tools are being used in rehabilitation and surgical preparation. One example is a smartwatch developed with Changi General Hospital that tracks patients’ pre‑surgery exercises and shares performance data with care teams.
Smarter operations to support staff and patients
The Smart Operations pillar focuses on digitalisation, robotics and automation to improve efficiency and reduce administrative burden on healthcare workers. Mr Tan highlighted the importance of using technology to ease workload pressures and support staff wellbeing.
SingHealth Community Hospitals are already using artificial intelligence to support patient transfers from acute hospitals to community settings. The AI‑powered referral system generates case summaries and recommendations, with the potential to save more than 170 man‑hours each month. Similar themes are discussed in analysis of agentic automation in Singapore’s public sector and healthcare.
Generative AI is also being piloted to translate mother tongue languages and dialects in real time, helping patients and caregivers communicate more effectively with care teams. The tool is currently being validated to ensure it is safe for clinical use.
Designing smart infrastructure from the outset
Smart Infrastructure forms the third pillar, embedding technology into the hospital’s physical design. Planned features include flexible room configurations and real‑time location systems to track equipment, staff and patients.
EGH is also working with Mandai X to explore nature‑inspired digital environments, such as therapeutic soundscapes and digital gardens, to improve patient experience. These ideas build on broader discussions around new standards for smart hospital infrastructure in Singapore.
Keeping care human in a digital future
“It is not about technology displacing people, or making care automated. It is about enhancing that human touch.” — Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information and Ministry of Health
In closing, Mr Tan stressed that digital transformation must remain grounded in community needs and human relationships. The unveiling of the smart hospital roadmap marks the start of EGH’s digital journey, as Singapore continues to shift towards more preventive, predictive and community‑centred healthcare.
The full speech is available on the Ministry of Health website.
