From Compliance to Competitive Advantage: How We Help Healthcare Organisations Unlock the Value of Data Governance

Building a Strong Data Governance Strategy for the Healthcare Sector

In today’s digital economy, data is one of the most valuable assets a company owns. Yet, many organisations including healthcare providers still struggle with preserving and extracting value from their data. 

A well-designed data governance strategy not only reduces risks but also enables smarter decision-making and greater trust in the information that drives the business.
 

Why Data Governance Matters in Your Service Line

The new Health Information Bill (“HIB”) was passed in Parliament on Monday (12 January 2026), marking a major step toward mandatory sharing of patients’ health data across all healthcare providers via the National Electronic Health Record (“NEHR”) system. The new HIB represents a shift from voluntary good practice to mandatory accountability and enforcement.

The HIB aims to position health data governance as a core trust and safety imperative, safeguards for patients’ obligations, clarifying responsibilities for healthcare providers and professionals and enabling the responsible sharing of non-NEHR health information to support better, more connected care.

HIB requires providers to strengthen data protection and cybersecurity measures, including timely system updates, staff training on cyber-safeguards and mandatory reporting of cybersecurity incidents and data breaches. 

To give healthcare providers sufficient time to prepare, the HIB is intended to take effect from early 2027.

It is critical for your business, whether a standalone healthcare practice or a large Healthcare Service Provider, to establish a robust and practical data governance strategy, one that not only safeguards against potential cyber breaches but also lays a strong foundation to fully leverage digital transformation initiatives. There could be potential operational, regulatory, and reputational consequences of poor HIB readiness
 

Key Elements of a Sound Data Governance Strategy

1. Clear Ownership and Accountability

   Before assigning responsibility, healthcare organisations need to understand their data infrastructure. Map out what information flows through the organisation, who uses it (clinic assistants, managers, practitioners, allied health, pharmacy, insurers) and for what purpose. Once there is visibility over the data landscape, it becomes easier to identify the right individuals to take ownership. Assigning data stewards and owners at each stage of the data lifecycle ensures accountability for accuracy, security and compliance.

   Ask yourself, “Who is accountable when NEHR data is inaccurate, late, or leaked?”

2. Policies and Standards

   Establish policies on how data is collected, classified, stored and shared. In the context of the HIB, this means aligning with rules on contribution to the NEHR, approved-purpose sharing, and handling of “Sensitive Health Information”. Standards create consistency across the organisation, for example naming conventions, access rights and retention schedules.

   Ask yourself, “Are there documented rules for handling patient data and reporting incidents?”

3. Data Quality Management

   Regular checks for completeness, accuracy and timeliness are essential. Especially given health records are being consolidated under NEHR and shared with other healthcare service providers, errors can cascade into clinical mis-decisions, regulatory risk and patient safety issues.

   Ask yourself, “Is NEHR data reliable for national healthcare planning and patient care?”

4. Security and Privacy Controls

   Safeguards such as encryption, access restrictions, monitoring and audit trails protect sensitive information. Under the HIB, healthcare providers will need to meet specific cyber and data-security obligations, to enable strong safeguards for Sensitive Health Information (SHI). Compliance with regulations (e.g. PDPA, HIB) must be built into processes, not treated as an afterthought. Obtaining CSA Cyber Essential or trust mark certification will help fulfil the HIB requirements

   Ask yourself, “Is patient data protected and are breaches reported promptly?”

5. Technology Enablement

   Tools such as data catalogues, lineage tracking and automated monitoring can make governance less manual and more scalable. For healthcare, systems must be NEHR-compatible (data contributor and user) and comply with data security requirements set out by MOH. 

   Ask yourself, “Do your systems support compliance — not just operations?”

6. Culture and Awareness

   Governance succeeds only when every team member, clinicians, administrators, vendors, support staff and understands why it matters. Training and communication foster a culture where everyone treats data as a critical asset to patient care and organisational resilience. 

   Ask yourself, “Do staff understand their role in protecting patient data?”

Your Call To Action – Immediate Steps for Healthcare Organisations

If your healthcare organisation is just starting out or wants to strengthen its data governance in preparation for HIB requirements, here are five simple and practical steps you can take immediately:

1. Map your data: Document what health data your institution collects (demographics, diagnoses, lab results, medications), where it is stored (e.g. clinic management system), and who uses it. This helps identify what’s most valuable and where the greatest risks lie.
    
2. Assign / Appoint: Designate a Data Protection Officer (DPO) or equivalent role to take charge of data governance and HIB-readiness. Clear accountability ensures data issues don’t fall through the cracks.
    
3. Set simple rules: Create a few basic guidelines everyone can follow. For example: how to handle patient data, how long to retain records, who can access “Sensitive Health Information”. Keep it simple so staff understand and adopt them quickly.
    
4. Train your team: Conduct awareness sessions on spotting phishing emails, proper handling of patient health data, and reporting issues. Even brief but targeted training can go a long way in preventing mistakes.
    
5. Start small with monitoring: Begin tracking a few key indicators. For example: number of duplicate patient records, frequency of access to sensitive data, error rate in key fields, and expand monitoring as you mature.

Final Thoughts

• Data governance is a strategic enabler, not a compliance burden.
  A strong healthcare data governance framework builds trust, resilience, and better patient outcomes while ensuring alignment with regulatory expectations such as those set by the HIB.
   
• Technology supports governance, leadership drives it.
  While digital tools provide the foundation, sustainability depends on clear ownership, disciplined processes and a culture that prioritises responsible data use.
   
• Accountability must start at the top.
  Data governance should be treated as a core leadership and risk management priority, with the C-suite setting the tone for secure, compliant and ethical use of healthcare data.

How can RSM Singapore help you?

Our team brings diverse expertise across data governance, cybersecurity, and healthcare compliance to help organisations strengthen their data management practices in a practical yet compliant manner. These may include:

• ISO/IEC 27001:2022 — Information Security Management
• ISO/IEC 27701:2019 — Privacy Information Management
• SS 714 Data Protection Trustmark
• SS 712 Cyber Trust Mark
• Cyber Essentials Mark
• Data Protection Essentials

With the integration of these standards, we help organisations establish a structured data governance framework tailored to their business needs. Our approach goes beyond compliance, we work with you to embed practical policies, assign clear ownership, and implement best practices that strengthen data quality, integrity, and security across the organisation.

Reach out to us to claim your complimentary data governance health checklist from here.