Digital Health Around the World: Singapore

Welcome to the second installment of my mini-series, “Digital Health Around the World.”

As illustrated in the recent StartUp Health funding report, global digital health innovation and investment activity is accelerating, with many significant deals involving non-U.S.-based companies. The innovation trade winds are clearly blowing toward Asia, Europe and other parts of the world where difficult health infrastructure, outcomes, and demographic challenges are looming.

Our second stop on this digital health world tour is Singapore. (Click here to read my overview of the Korean digital health market.)

Singapore has a range of infrastructure and demographic challenges and opportunities that are attracting innovation activity (and investment). Most notably:

• The population of seniors will double by 2030
• The country is making a significant investment in its health infrastructure with four new hospitals coming online by 2030
• Earlier this year, Singapore’s Ministry of Health unveiled a strategic Health IT Master plan, which calls for utilizing health data (increased digitization of health records), personalization (from health information delivery and beyond) and a focus on value and high-quality care

The Innovation Map provides an overview of some of the key themes dominating Singapore-related online and social content (inside and outside of health) during the period between April 1 — July 31 2017.

Innovation Map: Singapore — April 1 — July 31, 2017

Source: DigiHealth Informer

Outside of a focus on a market research report highlighting health tech innovation activity in Singapore and other nations in the region and diplomatic activity, it reveals:

• That Singapore has a robust startup ecosystem, as suggested by announcements re: fundraising activity and personnel moves
• Artificial intelligence and Big Data are areas of innovation focus. Nugit, the company referenced in the Innovation Map focuses on marketing. However, Singapore Health is actively using AI to optimize elderly care. Also, Singapore’s Tan Tock Seng Hospital has built an “artificial brain” to help optimize clinical workflows and how beds are assigned throughout the institution. (This activity is referenced in the Innovation Map below.)

Innovation Map: Singapore and AI — April 1 — August 14, 2017

Source: DigiHealth Informer

In the next installment of this series we’ll be moving on from Asia to Europe. Our first stop will be Finland, which has a thriving innovation ecosystem (in health and beyond) with a global reach.

Note: All of the insights above were generated using DigiHealth Informer. The platform’s core value is its ability to automatically produce and deliver market research summaries and reports in seconds. Use it to rapidly gain insights about new markets, companies and startups, technologies and much more. Click here to learn more about how the platform can help you.