Expand drug subsidy scheme to make Healthier SG initiative more attractive, say GPs and patients
Increasing drug subsidies and having more types of drugs on the subsidy list will encourage more people to sign up for national health programme Healthier SG, family doctors and patients said.
Family doctors who spoke to TODAY also said that they will need to increase their resources to cope with the influx of new patients hoping to enrol at their clinics.
On Wednesday (Sept 21), the Ministry of Health (MOH) submitted its White Paper on the Healthier SG programme where residents get to choose a family general practitioner (GP) to stick to and who would then manage their health throughout the rest of their lives.
The aim is to prevent people from falling ill in the first place, and to improve the overall health of Singaporeans by forging stronger patient-doctor relationships.
Enrolment to the scheme will be opened to residents aged 60 years and above in the second half of 2023, followed by those in the 40 to 49 age group in the next two years.
HIGHER SUBSIDIES, MORE DRUGS SHOULD BE INCLUDED
As part of the initiative, MOH will introduce a new drug subsidy tier under the Community Health Assist Scheme (Chas) for drugs that are used to manage chronic diseases, so that their prices at private general practitioner clinics are comparable with those at polyclinics.
These include drugs that help with the management of diabetes and hypertension, for example.
However, Dr Sunil Kumar Joseph, a GP who runs Tayka Medical Family Clinic, suggested that more chronic conditions and their medications should be included in the list.
“There have been many additions made to the list over the years, including allergic rhinitis, which was added recently. But there are still many chronic conditions that are not in the list, for example, thyroid disorders,” he said. Read More…
