How one homegrown healthcare brand is disrupting healthcare in Asia
How many Singaporeans seek medical attention when they fall ill? The answer may be less than you think. Based on a survey by homegrown healthcare provider HMI Medical, only one in two Singaporeans seek medical attention when they experience symptoms. Moreover, less than half (49 per cent) of those surveyed reported having gone for a standard health check-up or screening in the past year.
The upshot is that Singaporeans can be more proactive about taking healthcare into their own hands. In fact, this is how HMI is flipping the script. Over 25 years of operating in the region, HMI observed that many patients required more treatment because they sought help at later stages of their ailments, said Ms Chin Wei Jia, HMI’s Executive Director and Group Chief Executive Officer. It is why the company has taken bold steps to rewrite its approach to healthcare, by finding innovative ways to deliver affordable, convenient, and timely care to patients.
In Ms Chin’s words, healthcare is “not just about increasing lifespan, but about increasing ‘health span’ – that means years of healthy life”.
In 2018, for example, HMI pioneered Singapore’s first large-scale private ambulatory care centre – the 11-storey HMI Medical Centre in Farrer Park. Here, patients can undergo minimally invasive day surgeries and procedures outside a hospital setting, which means lower costs and shorter stays.
While patients are typically hospitalised for about a week at public hospitals, they spend just one night on average at HMI Medical Centre – at rates that are 20 to 30 per cent lower than what private hospitals usually charge for the same procedures, due to a more efficient use of facilities, manpower, and space.
This strategy – of deploying alternative models to make private healthcare more accessible – is common in the US and Europe, but not so much in the East. It is only one of the ways in which HMI is challenging the status quo. Over the past 25 years, the healthcare provider has built up a healthcare ecosystem that includes not just hospitals, but also medical and specialist centres, primary care clinics, and health screening and diagnostic centres. The aim is not just to provide treatment, but help with the prevention and early detection of illnesses, as well as home-based support.
“We believe that healthcare is more than patient care, and that means we want to reach out to more people before they become patients,” said Ms Chin.
Local player with regional ambitions
HMI is no stranger to being unconventional. The company was incorporated in 1998, in the midst of the Asian Financial Crisis. Despite the economic turmoil, HMI’s founder, Dr Gan See Khem, set her sights on regional expansion – making the bold decision to acquire a stake in Mahkota Medical Centre, a struggling 630-bed hospital in Melaka that was bordering on insolvency.
HMI subsequently introduced a slate of specialised services at Mahkota, from oncology to IVF and health screening centres, in a bid to capture patients from the nearby region. Mahkota became financially sustainable in 2001. Six years later, HMI acquired a defunct hospital building in Johor, Malaysia. By 2009, it had transformed it into Regency Specialist Hospital, a leading private hospital.
By then, HMI had established itself as a hospital operator. But it did not hesitate to disrupt its own operating model. In 2018, the same year it ventured into ambulatory care centres via HMI Medical Centre, HMI acquired a majority stake in OneCare Medical, a primary care clinic chain. It has since grown the brand into a nationwide chain of close to 40 clinics – bringing healthcare into the heartlands.
Innovating to stay ahead
Today, HMI has cemented its position as a regional player that serves more than three million patients annually across from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Cambodia. But as Ms Chin, who is Dr Gan’s daughter, noted, times are changing.
Healthcare costs are increasing, said Ms Chin, who joined the company in 2002 and became its Group CEO in 2015. But technology is also advancing, which means a greater potential for improved healthcare outcomes, she added.
To leverage technology, the Group launched the HMI One mobile app in 2024, which allows its broader patient-base to access medical information, learn more about healthy living, and manage their appointments. The app also includes a “Family” feature that allows caretakers to book appointments for their loved ones.
This is part of HMI’s efforts to innovate in a way that brings healthcare even closer to patients. “If you need a consultation in the middle of the night, all you need to do is press a button,” said Ms Chin.
The app was developed with the support of HMI Managed Healthcare (formerly MHC Asia Group), a managed healthcare technology firm acquired by HMI in 2023. In addition, HMI Managed Healthcare's flagship mobile app m-Plify now helps HMI serve more than 800,000 corporate customers annually, by providing them with an entry point to services such as doctor visits, health screenings and vaccinations.
HMI's acquisition of MHC was one of several mergers and acquisitions (M&As) undertaken by HMI to deepen its specialist capabilities and deliver even better care.
“By focusing (on each) speciality…we are able to provide holistic and highly comprehensive care delivery for every patient, depending on their condition,” said Ms Chin. In recent years, HMI has acquired majority stakes of best-in-class brands including Advanced Urology Associates, Eagle Eye Centre, and Harley Street Heart and Vascular Centre – all also housed at HMI Medical Centre and brought closer to patients with the help of mobile apps.
DBS: Helping HMI help others
Over the years, partnerships have been an important factor in HMI’s growth strategy.
“DBS was our lead bank and underwriter and supported our growth not just as a Singapore healthcare provider but as a regional one,” said Ms Chin. “In addition to offering a full suite of banking services to our specialist brands, we work closely with DBS on a more strategic level, where they share advice, inputs on capital structures, and even on our digitalisation efforts.”
In light of Asia’s rapidly ageing population, partnerships between financial institutions and healthcare providers will prove even more critical. DBS is already working to shore up healthcare infrastructure to meet the growing needs of seniors, with a focus on improving quality of life, not just lifespan.
This year, the DBS Foundation awarded S$3 million to businesses that enable others to age with dignity, purpose, and joy. It also unveiled a two-year, S$7.3 million programme that tackles nutritional and social isolation gaps among vulnerable seniors.
Such financial boosts are complemented by the efforts of healthcare providers like HMI, which is doing its part to bring healthcare out of clinics and into the community. In 2025, it launched its inaugural HMI Cares initiative, to empower Singaporeans to take charge of their own health by offering free eye screenings, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) workshops and more.
“Across Asia, we are seeing ageing populations, increasing chronic conditions, and also changes in the expectations of patients and their families,” Ms Chin said. “As a homegrown company, I think it is important that we are rooted in Singapore – but our ambition…is global. In order for us to bring the best to our patients, we need to partner with the best in Singapore, in the region, and in the world.
