Cycle 3
Last Updated: 27 March 2025
OVERVIEW
1. CEG and ASF Payment Issues
In January 2025, many clinics reported lower-than-expected disbursements for the Chronic Enrollment Grant (CEG) and Annual Service Fee (ASF) on the PCDS portal. This was primarily due to technical issues like data mismatches between CMSes and AIC systems, incorrect data entry, and user misunderstandings about data requirements. The Ministry of Health (MOH) addressed these issues by extending submission deadlines and offering data concessions.
2. New Features: Updated Health Plan and Patient Care Summary
Cycle 3 evaluated the introduction of a new version of the Health Plan and Patient Care Summary (PCS) by all top 5 HSG-compatible CMSes. While the Health Plan's structured format was generally well-received, some users missed the "copy last goals" function. The PCS was considered helpful, but there were concerns about data lag affecting its accuracy.
3. Persistent Issues: Cost, Support, Integration, Data Portability, and Stability
Clinics continued to express concerns about the cost of CMSes, customer support responsiveness, integration with external systems like NEHR and MHCP, data portability between CMSes, and system stability. Users requested seamless data flow between CMSes and NEHR to reduce manual data entry.
From our Cycle 3 review, the above key themes were identified, as elaborated upon below:
(1) Moment of Truth: The “Report Card” [Fulfillment of CEG and ASF payment requirements]
One of the key highlights to the HSG clinic would be the annual disbursement of the Chronic Enrollment Grant (CEG) and Annual Service Fee (ASF). This is very much akin to that of a student receiving his or her year-end report card from the teacher as many perceive it as a reflection of a year’s hard work in fulfilling the various requirements of HSG. But alas, when the interim payment advice for CEG and ASF was first made available in January 2025 on the Primary Care Digital Services (PCDS) portal, multiple clinics (including users from all top 5 HSG-compatible CMSes) provided feedback that the disbursement was below their expectations and highlighted issues such as zero or very low disbursements for ASF tied to fulfillment of Screening for Life (SFL). For context to the lay reader, SFL is a component of HSG in which ASF is paid for HSG enrollees who completed various SFL (such as screening for hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, cervical and colorectal cancer) during the year of assessment. Further compounding the matter was the difficulty in navigating PCDS (as patient identifiers in PCDS are limited to partial NRIC / patient identification numbers as opposed to CMSes which relied on full NRIC / patient identification numbers in their various search functions) to match PCDS enrollees and identify where the shortfalls / gaps were. As CMS vendors are not privy to the interim payment advice received by the respective clinics, the vendors were unaware of this shortfall and initially unable to render much assistance to the affected user. To the credit of primary care networks (PCN), this feedback was promptly shared with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC). A joint taskforce consisting of MOH, AIC and Synapxe was rapidly formed and field visits to multiple affected HSG clinics were conducted to investigate the causes for lower recognition and non-fulfillment of CEG and ASF payment requirements.
CMS Sutra understands that following the investigation by the taskforce, several gaps were identified as the causes for the lower recognition and non-fulfillment of CEG and ASF payment requirements. These gaps can be broadly divided into technical issues such as data format mismatch between certain CMSes and the AIC system, certain CMSes auto-populating current / follow-up dates instead of test dates when users were imputing SFL outcomes, and user knowledge issues such as lack of awareness of users on the need to indicate an outcome for SFL and the need for annual check-in for the year 2024 following the first Health Plan in 2023. To the relief of many of the users, MOH has undertaken proactive steps to address these issues including a one-time concession by delinking certain data fields for payment requirements and extension of the data submission deadline. MOH also shared the findings and steps undertaken via a webinar with HSG clinics.
The real test for any HSG-compatible CMS would be how well and how painless the CMS can help users achieve recognition of their CEG and ASF payment requirements. It is the sincere wish of the CMS Sutra team that all HSG-compatible CMSes can continue to work closely with users and MOH to further streamline workflows, reduce administrative burdens and ensure seamless accurate data flows with minimal manual entering of data. CMS vendors should also consider regular user-training sessions at intervals to help remind users (especially new users) on the data requirements of HSG as well as demonstrate the workflows which are required for payment fulfillment. Afterall, the old Shakespearean adage holds true: “It is better to be 3 hours too soon than a minute too late”, and it is better for users to be informed early of data short falls rather than a mad rush towards the end to fulfill any short falls. CMS Sutra would also like to encourage all HSG clinics to continue to work with their PCN leaders and AIC account managers if they experience any further issues.
(2) New features: New Updated Version of Health Plan and Patient Care Summary
For Cycle 3, two of the key changes that the CMS sutra team investigated were the launch of the newly updated version of the HSG Health Plan and Patient Care Summary by the various CMSes. The CMS Sutra team is happy to report that all Top 5 HSG-compatible CMSes were able to launch the new features without any major hiccups.
For the new version of the Health Plan, one of the drawbacks reported was that the previously well-liked function of “copy last goals” does not work well when the users try to copy goals from the old version of the Health Plan to the new version of the Health Plan (certain parts of the previous Health Plan such as the free text portion on the discussion could not be copied over due to formatting issues). Users generally like the new version of Health Plan as it is well-structured and easy for users to indicate relevant advice to enrollees on exercise and dietary recommendations. Some users, however, have feedback that the new expanded version was perceived to be too long and the need to scroll upwards and downwards can be cumbersome. It is the hope of many of our users that if future versions of the Health Plan were to be launched, CMS vendors should prioritize the preservation of the “copy last goals” functionality (i.e. try to ensure that last goals can be copied even when there are changes to the format of the Health Plan).
For the Patient Care Summary (PCS), most users found it a helpful feature to have. However, concerns about the accuracy of the PCS remains as there is a “lag time” in the reported data field (i.e. the data fields are not truly contemporaneous and recently performed tests or vaccinations may not be captured in the PCS due to a time lag and hence the reported data may not be “up to date”). This concern led many users to continue relying on checking in NEHR or other external sources to ensure that they have a clearer picture of the patient’s summary.
(3) Old issues: Cost, Customer Support, Integration with External Systems,
Data Portability and Stability
The perennial areas of concerns by users include Cost (value for money perceptions), Customer support (responsiveness and capabilities of the CMS vendors in resolving issues), Integration with external systems (especially auto-population of laboratory data, updating of vaccination records and integration with NEHR and MOH Healthcare Claim Portal, MHCP), Data Portability (ability or how painless it is to move from one CMS vendor to another) and Stability (how stable and accurate the system is). These perennial issues continue to surface in Cycle 3 and remain the top areas of concern (and grouses) by respondents.
In terms of cost, there are concerns among users that the costs of CMSes may increase with the increasing demands of HSG. Users are generally willing to pay reasonable prices for CMSes but this is contingent on the CMSes being able to perform up to expectations. Expectations of the users are in turn rooted in the other areas of concern. Users want good customer support with prompt response to issues across extended time periods (especially clinics who operate beyond standard office hours). Most importantly, users expect CMS vendors to promptly rectify any errors or downtime or at least provide information on the time to resolution or offer interim solutions pending full resolution. Customer support is also tied heavily with stability with many users preferring CMSes with better stability and minimal “slowing down /lagging periods”, “down time” or “hanging/freezing”. Integration with external systems (especially NEHR, MHCP and laboratories) are a source of concern for users as users continue to report isolated incidents of lapses in integration. Top on our users’ wish list remains bidirectional flow of data between their CMSes and NEHR so that laboratory results or HSG-related data (such as laboratory tests, diabetes-related eye and foot screening tests performed in polyclinics and government restructured hospital specialist outpatient clinics) can flow seamless into CMSes especially for HSG Care Reports. This wish list feature will help to minimize the need of regularly logging into NEHR (especially in view of the multiple restrictions and limitations on the accessing of NEHR as well as NEHR’s propensity to log out users in a very short period of idle time) for retrieval of information and the need for manual entering of data into Care Reports. Lastly, concerns about data portability and the hassle of changing CMSes has largely limited clinics’ willingness to switch to another CMS vendor (unless the current vendor is extremely dysfunctional – which is thankfully not a phenomenon that we observed among the current Top 5 CMSes).
The CMS Sutra team would like to take this opportunity to inform our readers that after the conclusion of this third cycle of our review, CMS Sutra will undergo a transition to a new review system on our upcoming new CFPS website. Stay tuned as CFPS expands our reviews to other areas of concerns among the family medicine community.
For an overview of how the various CMSes stack up against each other, please kindly refer to the table below. For more in-depth analysis, please click on the logo of the various CMSes to read our detailed reviews and assessments of the CMSes in Cycle 3.
For feedback and suggestions, you may wish to contact us at cms_sutra@cfps.org.sg
*The CMS Sutra Review Cycle 3 was conducted over October 2024 – February 2025 and reflects the surveyors and reviewers’ input in this given time period. CMS Sutra understands that improvements have been made by the various CMSes after the survey period, we encourage all readers to reach out directly to the various CMSes if you wish to find out more about their systems.
Overview table of survey outcome for the Top 5 HSG-compatible CMSes by active users
Results are based on a 5-point metric covering a total of 289 submitted entries by GPs
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Clinic Assist Clinic Assist Software (CAS) streamlines the capture of patient data, seamlessly integrating into clinic workflows to input and access information without disruption. The platform offers a unified interface, presenting doctors with comprehensive patient details on a single page, enhancing the efficiency of care through quick access and review of relevant data. CAS simplifies subsidy computations with complex structures, saving time and mitigating the risk of errors inherent in manual calculations. The software incorporates data validation features, ensuring the accuracy and adherence to standards in entered information. This is vital for maintaining data integrity, especially for submissions related to HealthierSG and National Electronic Health Records (NEHR), contributing significantly to regulatory compliance and fostering a more interconnected and comprehensive healthcare system. Click on the image on the left for our full review on Clinic Assist CMS. To learn more, head over to https://eclinic.com.sg/ |
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Galen Health Galen Health Clinic Management System is a user-friendly platform designed by clinicians for clinical use. It streamlines operations for healthcare providers, including GPs, Specialists, and Medical Groups. The system significantly reduces the clinic's administrative workload and enhances patient engagement. Galen Health CMS offers a comprehensive suite of end-to-end solutions that improve patient care, leading to better health outcomes while simultaneously enhancing the clinic’s efficiency and eliminating unnecessary costs. As a SmartCMS participant, Galen Health CMS seamlessly integrates with programmes and initiatives like CHAS, HealthierSG, as well as the National Electronic Health Records (NEHR). Its encrypted and secure CMS has also been tested and trusted by over 150 clinics across Singapore. Click on the image on the left for our full review on Galen Health CMS. To learn more, head over to https://galenhealth.io/ |
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GPConnect GPConnect is a Tier-1 Healthier SG compatible clinic management system (CMS) specifically designed to meet the needs of general practitioners (GPs) in Singapore. With its comprehensive range of features and user-friendly interface, GPConnect serves as a vital tool for GPs and their clinic assistants, streamlining daily clinic operations from patient registration and consultations to medicine dispensation and billing in tandem with MOH policy changes. GPConnect also serves as an electronic medical record (EMR) system with several features that enhance efficiency and ensure the seamless management of patient information. With the EMR, GPs can now store their medical records digitally, thereby facilitating easy retrieval and analysis while eliminating the need for physical storage space. Click on the image on the left for our full review on GPConnect CMS. To learn more, email GPIT@synapxe.sg |
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Plato Plato is a GP Clinic Operating System. 3000 doctors across Southeast Asia use Plato to automate their full clinic operations. At the front desk, Plato fully automates appointment booking, queuing, and registration. Process each patient with less effort, while still running patient-centric clinic operations. For GPs, Plato works efficiently. Case notes can be repeated in a click and key items can be grouped together to speed up dispensing. Plato has an integrated EMR: to receive direct lab and radiology results, trend results, and auto-populate results into HealthierSG and PCN reporting. Plato is a Tier One SmartCMS Partner which can manage CHAS, CDMP, HealthierSG, and NEHR data and/or claims submission right in Plato. It can also compare CHAS Chronic and HealthierSG claims and manage ALPS delivery. Click on the image on the left for our full review on Plato CMS. To learn more, head over to https://platomedical.com/ |
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SGiMED Hummingbird CMS The Hummingbird Management System aims to provide users with an efficient and easy to use software management system for your medical practices. Hummingbird has a variety of modules readily available for users to add into their system, which will be useful to automate or streamline a variety of tasks. With the use of modules such as Electronic Medical Records (EMR), queue number tracking, tele-consult system, cashless payment module, health screening and picture archiving and communications system (PACs) integration The Hummingbird CMS is also compatible with government systems such as Healthier SG, Integrated with National Electronic Health Records (NEHR) System, this creates a seamless flow of information between different healthcare providers and the Ministry of Health. Hummingbird has a team of experts ready to take GPs’ unique requests, to help create the ideal management system for your medical practices. Click on the image on the left for our full review on SGiMED Hummingbird CMS. To learn more, head over to https://sgimed.com/ |
