Highlights from the Honorary Secretary

SMA feedback on draft NEHR guidelines

Following the focus group discussion on 26 August 2023 regarding the guidelines on appropriate use and access to the National Electronic Health Record (NEHR), the SMA Council discussed and submitted a formal feedback document on the draft NEHR guidelines.

For reference, the draft NEHR guidelines can be found at the following link: https://bit.ly/3OTs8Dy.

The key points from SMA's input are summarised below:

• Similar guidelines should be formulated for other parties who have access to NEHR.
• Access to NEHR should not be granted for non-care-related purposes, such as employment, insurance and research.
• There should be no requirement to consult NEHR if the doctor is satisfied that information obtained from the patient's history and examination is sufficient.
• Patient privacy rights are not mentioned in the document. The patient must be allowed to opt out of uploading information into the NEHR.
• Patients should be able to specify which portions of sensitive health information they wish to share with the NEHR.
• It is too onerous for doctors who pick up errors in NEHR to contact the user who made the error.
• Doctors should not be forced to omit entering confidential patient information into their medical records. It should be possible to block the upload of such information into NEHR if the patient requests it.

• Scenarios mentioned in the guidelines should be clearly stated as being illustrative and not meant to represent the standard of care.

SMA's submitted feedback can be found in full at the following link: https://bit.ly/41dfBjU.

Appointment of SMJ Chief Editor-Designate

The SMA Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Prof Ang Tiing Leong as Chief Editor-Designate of the Singapore Medical Journal (SMJ) in 2024. Prof Ang joined the SMJ Editorial Board in 2008 and has served as Deputy Editor since 2014. He will officially begin his term as Chief Editor on 1 January 2025.

The SMJ's current Chief Editor, Prof Poh Kian Keong, will continue his editorship in 2024 to facilitate a smooth transition in leadership. We wish to express our heartfelt appreciation for Prof Poh's direction and dedication in leading the SMJ for the past ten years, during which several key milestones were achieved.

The Council is confident that, with the solid foundation laid by Prof Poh and the past chief editors, SMJ will continue to make great strides under the leadership of Prof Ang Tiing Leong.