Singapore hospitals launch study to improve heat illness diagnosis
Singapore General Hospital is spearheading a national study to address the underreporting of heat-related illnesses at emergency departments as temperatures rise.
Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is leading the HEAT-MAP study, a collaborative effort across ten public hospitals to standardize the recognition and tracking of heat-related medical conditions. The project aims to reduce the clinical misdiagnosis of heat illnesses, which often present with symptoms similar to infections or sepsis.
As part of the study, medical staff are adopting standardized protocols to record environmental exposure, patient core temperatures, and pre-existing conditions that increase vulnerability to heat stress. Currently, health officials estimate that heat-related emergency department visits rose from 280 in 2024 to 398 in 2025, a trend that coincides with some of the warmest years on record in the country.
Dr. Marcus Ong, senior consultant at SGH, noted that the initiative seeks to establish a consistent reporting framework to better identify cases that may have previously been overlooked. The data collected through 2028 is expected to inform future public health projections regarding the impact of global warming on the local population.