Singapore marked a new chapter in its digital health journey with the launch of SS 719:2025 Guidelines on data standards (terminology) to support interoperability of healthcare system records and SS 720:2025 Remote clinical monitoring – API standard for information exchange and data standards. These two milestones aim to propel healthcare interoperability, empowering seamless, secure, and intelligent data exchange across the nation’s health systems.
Developed by the Biomedical and Health Standards Committee (BHSC)—supported by the Duke-NUS Centre of Regulatory Excellence – Standards Development Organisation (CoRE-SDO)—under the Singapore Standards Council (SSC), the standards were officially launched as part of Synapxe HealthX Startup Day 2025 at the Synapxe Terrarium on 31 October 2025.
A Collective Commitment to Innovation and Open Standards
In his welcome address, Mr Henry Kang, Director of Innovation & Capabilities Enablement (ICE) at Synapxe, reaffirmed the organisation’s dedication to enabling healthcare innovation through partnerships and open protocols.
“The launch of these two new standards underscores our commitment to interoperability—allowing public healthcare providers and innovators to build faster, smarter, and interoperable HealthTech solutions,” Mr Kang said.
He added that the new standards will be incorporated into HealthX Innovation Sandbox 2.0, providing startups with essential tools to accelerate development within Singapore’s healthcare ecosystem.
Setting the Standard for a Data-Driven Future
Dr Yong Chern Chet, Chair of BHSC, officiated the launch, highlighting the pivotal role of standardisation in ensuring safe, trusted, and connected digital health systems.
“Standards are the backbone of data-driven healthcare,” he noted. “Through collaboration across sectors, we can accelerate Singapore’s vision of a future-ready, interoperable healthcare system.”
Ms Yang Fan, Head of CoRE-SDO, introduced Singapore’s national standardisation framework and called for continued collaboration among healthcare clusters, regulators, and industry partners.
“Co-creation ensures our standards remain practical, innovative, and relevant,” she said, inviting broader participation in shaping the nation’s biomedical and health standards.
From Concepts to Connected Care
In a technical showcase, Ms Wong Jing Jing, Senior Lead Informatics Specialist at Synapxe, presented SS 719:2025, which harmonises critical terminologies such as SNOMED CT, LOINC, and the National Healthcare Data Dictionary. She demonstrated how unified vocabularies enable effective data sharing, analytics, and a more cohesive national health information infrastructure.
Following this, Ms Charissa Chua Li-Sien, Assistant Lead Engineer at Synapxe, unveiled SS 720:2025, built on HL7 FHIR-based APIs. She illustrated how the standard securely connects home-monitoring devices with clinical systems, powering initiatives like Mobile In-patient Care@Home (MIC@Home) and extending care beyond hospital walls.
Dialogue and Recognition
A lively panel discussion featuring experts from Synapxe, SG iMED, and Tan Tock Seng Hospital delved into the real-world challenges of achieving interoperability. The conversation spanned data privacy, system trust, and reducing integration costs—all critical to ensuring that digital transformation translates into better, timelier patient care.
The event also honoured the Working Groups (WGs) behind SS 719:2025 and SS 720:2025, recognising contributors from across Singapore’s healthcare clusters, government agencies, academia, and industry for their collaborative spirit and dedication.
Voices of Leadership
Ms Choy Sauw Kook, Director-General (Quality and Excellence) at Enterprise Singapore, emphasised the significance of standards in sustaining healthcare trust and quality:
“Without clear standards, data silos risk fragmenting care. These new guidelines ensure our digital health infrastructure remains robust and ready for innovation.”
About the Standards
SS 719:2025 provides guidance on data standards to ensure consistent use of medical terminologies and codesets, covering demographics (NHDD), lab tests (LOINC), drugs and vaccines (SDD), and diagnoses (SNOMED CT). It sets out structures for data exchange, maintenance, and mapping—laying the groundwork for coherent, interoperable health data management across IT systems.
SS 720:2025 defines API standards for remote clinical monitoring (RCM), ensuring that patient data collected from connected devices can flow seamlessly into clinical systems and patient portals. This reduces integration costs while enhancing flexibility and interoperability across healthcare solutions.
Both standards are now available for purchase via the Singapore Standards eShop.
A Step Toward Smarter, Seamless Healthcare
The launch of SS 719:2025 and SS 720:2025 reaffirms Singapore’s global leadership in digital health innovation. Through collective effort and forward-thinking policy, the nation continues to build a healthcare ecosystem where data moves as freely—and safely—as care itself.