Healthcare research
in Singapore
Patients do not experience healthcare the way systems describe it. They experience waiting rooms, confusing discharge instructions, apps that crash during appointment booking, and health plans they signed but never opened. We help pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers, medtech firms, and insurers understand what actually happens when people encounter Singapore's healthcare system.
Assembled has delivered healthcare research spanning severe asthma patient journeys, oncology specialist treatment pattern studies, hospital staff perspectives on operational transformation, childhood myopia prevention, medical device claims validation, and large-scale influenza awareness campaigns. Our healthcare panel includes 4,800 healthcare professionals across Singapore.
Every project below follows our standard confidentiality practice. Client names are withheld. Participant identities in all photography are obscured or replaced in accordance with Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act. Clinical screening criteria are validated with relevant specialists before fieldwork begins.
Patient journey and experience research
We have conducted patient journey studies for severe asthma across Singapore, recruiting participants meeting specific clinical severity criteria and guiding them through sensitive discussions about disease burden, treatment experiences, and healthcare provider interactions. For a vision technology company focused on childhood myopia prevention, we ran Zoom-based focus groups with parents exploring attitudes toward emerging eye care technologies and receptiveness to app-based vision management.
MOH has commissioned user research through external partners to evaluate the Healthier SG patient experience. A May 2025 position paper in the Singapore Medical Journal argued that most Healthier SG KPIs miss patient-centred outcomes entirely, calling for systematic Patient-Reported Experience Measures. This measurement gap is where qualitative research becomes essential, because satisfaction scores cannot tell you why a patient abandoned their health plan or what made one clinic visit feel different from another.
Healthcare professional and specialist research
For a global pharmaceutical client, we recruited and interviewed oncology specialists through clinical networks and professional healthcare associations, administering sophisticated medical questionnaires requiring iterative refinement across four versions. Separately, we ran two structured focus groups with primary care physicians exploring clinical practice challenges, patient engagement approaches, and perspectives on healthcare innovation.
We have also supported physician intelligence programmes for oncology medical device launches, engaging oncologists, neurosurgeons, thoracic surgeons, and palliative care specialists through clinically informed IDIs that captured treatment paradigms, adoption barriers, and opinion leadership dynamics. The research required interviewers with sufficient medical literacy to engage specialists at an evidence-based level about tumour biology and clinical outcomes.
Hospital and healthcare operations research
For a leading Singapore teaching hospital undergoing organisational transformation, we designed a multi-group focus study with clinical and support staff across departments, conducted via Zoom to accommodate shift patterns and 24/7 operations. The confidentiality framework was essential. All discussions were structured so individual comments would not be attributed by name, and staff were assured the research was conducted by an external firm rather than hospital management.
The research identified patterns across departments, distinguishing systemic challenges from department-specific ones. Transcribed sessions created a permanent, searchable knowledge base that hospital leadership referenced as they implemented operational improvements. Staff who participated reported greater buy-in for subsequent changes because they saw their feedback shaping decisions.
Disease awareness and campaign research
For a major pharmaceutical client through a global healthcare communications agency, we executed a multi-wave street survey programme across 500 to 800 Singapore consumers evaluating influenza awareness, prevention knowledge, and campaign message effectiveness. The study went through five questionnaire iterations, each refined based on preliminary findings, and revealed that messaging attempting to counter specific misconceptions sometimes backfired, actually strengthening the associations being addressed.
The demographic analysis identified vulnerable populations with particularly low vaccination rates and mapped distinct information gaps by age group. The finding that trust in healthcare providers was more predictive of vaccination uptake than belief in vaccine effectiveness reshaped the entire campaign strategy from information delivery toward provider endorsement.
Why healthcare research
is shifting in Singapore
Three structural changes are creating new research demand across the healthcare ecosystem.
Singapore's largest healthcare transformation since independence. Capitation-based funding replaces fee-for-service. MOH is actively commissioning user research to evaluate patient experiences. The shift from curative to preventive care changes how patients choose providers, follow health plans, and evaluate outcomes.
A May 2025 Singapore Medical Journal position paper found that most Healthier SG KPIs focus on utilisation and disease outcomes but miss patient-centred measures. The paper calls for systematic Patient-Reported Experience Measures and Patient-Reported Outcome Measures, creating demand for qualitative healthcare research.
AI Missions under NAIS 2.0 names healthcare as one of four priority sectors. GenAI is being deployed for automated medical records, predictive analytics, and patient triage. Companies deploying AI in clinical or patient-facing contexts need to understand how patients and providers experience these tools.
Singapore's population is ageing rapidly. CareShield Life, eldercare centre expansion, and chronic disease management programmes are reshaping healthcare delivery and funding. Research with elderly and caregiver segments requires cultural sensitivity, multilingual capability, and community networks.
For methodology details including focus groups, in-depth interviews, ethnography, and quantitative surveys, see our practical guide. For other industry specialisations, see our financial services and food & beverage research pages.
Talk to us about
healthcare research
Tell us what you need to understand about patients, providers, or the healthcare experience. We will design the right study.
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