Outram Community Hospital pilots face scan gantries to save visitors’ time

Mr Ong Leong Seng, deputy chief executive of iHiS – which was set up to pursue an integrated approach in IT implementation of public healthcare systems – described how the system helps visitors.

“They don’t have to physically come here to queue up for pre-registration. The minute they come over to the premises, all they need to do is just to present themselves in front of the camera and then they can enter,” he said.

He added that the information is captured using strong encryption methods, and will only be retained during the stay of the patient. 

“Once the patient is discharged, this information will be deactivated from the systems,” Mr Ong said. 

Besides the convenience, another benefit is increased hygiene from contactless technology, said Mr Lee Jiunn Kee, director of patient support services at Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

“Because of the contactless experience, they do not actually need to exchange the NRIC, so they will cut down their risk of community-acquired infection,“ he said.

WIDENING USE OF TECHNOLOGY

There are bigger plans for the use of the technology, said Mr Lee. 

As SingHealth refreshes visitor management systems throughout its hospitals, there are plans for the cluster to roll out these gantries to all its other institutions, which include SGH and KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.