Galen Health
GalenHealth (also known as Galen) is the Clinic Management System (CMS) that powers the Healthway Medical Group (HMG). HMG has more than 100 clinics and medical centers in Singapore and is one of the largest networks of clinics in the private sector. CMS Sutra understands that Galen was made available to non-HMG clinics in the early launch phase of HSG. However, in the subsequent phases of HSG, Galen has not been proactively reaching out to non-HMG clinics and is largely used only by HMG clinics. Interested users may still reach out to GalenHealth for more information.
In Cycle 3, Galen has a modest overall rating of 3.1 stars out of 5 stars. Galen’s key strength remains its high rating of 3.6 stars in comprehensiveness due to its wide array of functionalities covering both HSG and non-HSG areas (including Third Party Administrators / Private Insurance Systems). Galen’s other key strength is its intuitive design with a high degree of automation and remains one of the easiest systems for beginners to pick up quickly. The user interface is also modern-looking and aesthetically pleasing.
CEG and Annual Service Fee (ASF) Report Card
Similar to other top 5 HSG-compatible CMSes, Galen has multiple users who reported lower than expected disbursement in the variable component of ASF during the first release of the Interim Payment Advice in January 2025. 19.2% of users rated one or two stars when surveyed on the completeness of the HSG Care Report generated by Galen in helping them claim for the ASF and incentives. Our reviewers highlighted an issue when submitting Screen for Life (SFL) outcomes in which the system automatically dates it to the current date (i.e. the date at which the entry was made) instead of the date of the screening. This may have led to the issue of invalidation in ASF for SFL and hence lower recognition of the variable component of ASF.
Like other HSG-compatible CMSes, it is recommended that users actively reach out to their CMS vendor to have better understanding on how to submit the key data tied to CEG and ASF with the aim of achieving a better outcome for next year’s CEG and ASF.
HSG-related Functionalities – Old and New
Galen continued to perform well in terms of HSG-related functionalities (including both pre-existing ones and the newer ones). The transition to the new version of the Health Plan was generally smooth without any major issues (except the inability to copy over free text information from older Health Plans which is a universal issue for all CMSes). The new Patient Care Summary had functioned as it was intended to be, and the data presented was considered fairly accurate by our reviewers. Pre-existing HSG functionalities such as HSG tier versus CHAS tier price comparison, price caps on Whitelisted medications, remote drug orders and tracking of delivery status were generally functioning as intended to be. 61.3% of users rated the comprehensiveness of Galen’s HSG Health Plan module as 4 or 5 stars.
Perennial Areas which Users are Interested In
Stability remains a major bugbear for Galen with many users continuing to report episodes of lagging, hanging, freezing and even sporadic prolonged downtime which are disruptive to clinic operations. 42.3% of users rated Galen’s stability as 1 or 2 stars during this period. In addition, due to the lack of auto-saving, users may have to re-enter their clinical entries if the system hangs mid-way during consultation, and this can frustrate some users facing high patient loads. Our reviewers continued to notice isolated instances of missing data. Stability of the system remains an issue and a key aspect that we hope the Galen team can continue to work on.
Laboratory and Third-Party Administrator (TPA) / Insurance systems integration was generally acceptable with no major issues in terms of data flows. Users did not report any major issues for data contribution to NEHR. Customer support was generally acceptable, and the Galen team was responsive to downtimes and bugs / issues with 34.6% users rating the speed of SGiMED in responding to technical issues as 4 or 5 stars. However, at the time of writing, long fixes to improve the stability of the CMS has yet to be fully implemented. CMS Sutra hopes that the stability issue can be addressed in near term future.
Summary
In summary, across the CMS Sutra cycles, Galen’s ratings have declined from Cycle 1 and stabilized in Cycle 3. Galen’s key strength is its intuitive user interface which makes it easy for beginners to adapt quickly to. Galen’s main drawback is its stability issues with multiple users reporting incidents of lagging, hanging, freezing and sporadic prolonged downtime. This can be disruptive to clinic workflow and frustrates users who have a high workload. The CMS Sutra team understands that Galen will be making major improvements to the system to address this stability issue. Hopefully, the system will stabilize and improve with time.
To learn more or to book a demo, head over to https://galenhealth.io/
