SINGAPORE, April 13 — More patients in Singapore will soon be able to receive hospital-level care at home, as public hospitals expand the Mobile Inpatient Care @ Home (MIC@Home) programme to ease pressure on hospital beds.
According to The Straits Times (ST), the service, which combines teleconsultations and home visits, is offered to patients with conditions such as dengue, cellulitis and urinary tract infections.
“They are an alternative for patients who would otherwise be admitted to an acute hospital,” said the Ministry of Health (MOH).
The report also said that patients are assessed for suitability based on their condition and home caregiving setup.
Despite the term “virtual bed”, they sleep in their own homes and remain connected to care teams via phone or video, it added.
As of March 2025, there are about 200 MIC@Home beds, up from 104 in January 2024.
More are being added at hospitals including Singapore General Hospital, Woodlands Health and, eventually, the new Eastern General Hospital in Bedok. The Institute of Mental Health also plans a pilot.
“We hope that by 2030, MIC@Home will be a preferred care option,” said SingHealth deputy group CEO Professor Lee Chien Earn.
The National University Health System aims to scale from 75 to 400 virtual beds by 2030, and is using AI to identify suitable patients.
Dr Stephanie Ko, who leads NUHS@Home, said patients at home tend to “eat better, sleep better, move around more” and are less prone to hospital-acquired infections.
ST said that more than 2,500 patients have used the service since April 2024.
One of them, 43-year-old Sheralyn Tay, said: “You feel reassured that you’re still taken care of… There was an office-hours number to call and an after-hours number to call.”
Singapore currently has more than 12,000 public hospital beds, with plans to add 2,800 more by 2030.