Digital health in Singapore : building an ecosystem conducive for innovation-driven enterprises

Abstract

Healthcare is undergoing a digital revolution. In Singapore, business-friendly policies, strong information technology capabilities, and a world-class healthcare system seem to provide the necessary ingredients for digital health businesses to thrive. However, the depth of digital health start-up activities still pales in comparison with more mature ecosystems like Boston. Some challenges of the digital health sector include requiring an understanding of a wide set of stakeholders, facilitating cross-disciplinary innovation across patient care and digital technologies, and propagating innovation in hospital environments. The digital health innovation-driven enterprises ecosystem in Singapore is explored through an in-depth analysis of Singapore hospitals as a key stakeholder and an assessment of healthcare hackathons' suitability in addressing the present gaps. A set of recommendations are presented that could help to promote activities conducive to digital healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship in Singapore, which include extending key stakeholders' networks as well as enhancing access to key human resources and mentoring during the early stages of start-up formation.