Health Sciences Authority (Amendment) and Other Matters Bill to Consolidate Health Regulatory Functions

The Health Sciences Authority (Amendment) and Other Matters Bill, which was tabled for Second Reading in Parliament today, will consolidate and establish an integrated health regulatory function under the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

2       The Bill establishes HSA as Singapore’s integrated health regulator to build a more coherent, future-ready system that protects patients, provides clarity and predictability for healthcare industry and professionals, while enabling timely access to beneficial healthcare innovations.                                         

3       Currently, the regulatory ecosystem is organised across three different agencies:

a)    The Ministry of Health (MOH) regulates healthcare services, health information, human biomedical research and biosafety.

b)    HSA regulates health products such as medicines and medical devices.

c)    The Secretariat of healthcare Professional Boards (SPB) supports the healthcare Professional Boards and Councils that oversee the regulations of doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, and allied health professionals.

4       This approach has served Singapore well, and we have progressively modernised our regulatory frameworks over time. At the same time, healthcare is evolving rapidly. New models of care and innovative technologies, such as digital health, genomics and artificial intelligence, may span various regulatory domains. Complex cases may also require multiple regulatory touchpoints to address patient safety and access issues. Bringing these regulatory capabilities and expertise closer together will allow us to respond more coherently across the healthcare journey.

5       The Bill therefore proposes to consolidate health regulatory functions and establish an integrated health regulatory function under HSA. Under the consolidated structure, there will be three key benefits: