Singapore General Hospital Integrates RPA and GenAI

Singapore General Hospital (SGH) hosted its inaugural combined Citizen Developer Showcase on July 30, 2025. The event united Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Generative AI (GenAI) citizen developers, allowing them to share their innovations and experiences. This initiative signifies a natural evolution in the hospital's digital transformation efforts, where these complementary technologies increasingly work together to enhance healthcare operations.

The hospital's citizen developer program has seen significant growth over six years. Originating as a small initiative, it empowers non-technical staff, including administrative personnel and nurses, to develop their own IT solutions without traditional programming expertise. By combining a deep understanding of work processes with user-friendly development tools, these individuals create solutions that improve daily operations.

RPA has played a pivotal role, with its related projects saving over 12,000 man-hours in FY24. Citizen developers implemented 66% of all RPA projects during that period. Notable examples include a patient monitoring bot developed by the Urology team and the transformation of the Staff Clinic's appointment system. Jonathan Lim, a citizen developer from Physiotherapy, has also assisted SingHealth Polyclinics in adopting similar automation solutions.

Generative AI (GenAI) tools, such as Pair and Note Buddy, were introduced in 2024. These tools have enabled the creation of custom assistants to address various challenges, from sharing consistent information across departments to converting complex clinical data into useful formats. The hospital also plans to implement governance mechanisms for clinical Pair bots, emphasizing the importance of thorough testing and evaluation for these AI applications.