Singapore expands preventive healthcare system

SGGP October 18, 2023 06:29

According to the Strait Times, with positive public feedback, Singapore continues to implement and plans to expand the Healthier SG program to improve the effectiveness of its preventive healthcare system.

Accordingly, starting in November, citizens and permanent residents (PRs) aged 40-59 will be invited to register for the Healthier SG program. Statistics show that this age group comprises approximately 1 million people. Statistics from the Ministry of Health (MOH) indicate that since July, 400,000 citizens and permanent residents have registered for Healthier SG.

Currently, approximately 1,022 out of 1,200 clinics in the Community Health Support Program are participating in the program. To encourage more people, especially those over 65, to register, the Ministry of Health deployed Healthier SG ambassadors to various community contact points from October 20th to December 1st. With the Healthier SG roadshow programs concluding in November, the Ministry of Health continues to reach the community by deploying additional mobile Healthier SG ambassador teams to operating nursing homes and community-level events. Meanwhile, the registration branches at all 22 designated clinics will continue to operate.

Singaporeans participate in Healthier SG.

Healthier SG is Singapore's strategy to focus on preventive care and empower individuals to take steps toward better healthcare with the support of family clinics and community partners. With Healthier SG, the Singapore Ministry of Health aims to shift its focus from "disease care" to "preventive healthcare".

The program provides citizens with free annual health checkups, vaccinations, and recommended health screenings nationwide. The government supports participating family doctors by providing annual service fees based on patients' health risk profiles. The government will also provide one-time funding to family doctors to offset the costs of implementing information technology, facilitating the sharing of notes, clinical data, and patient outcome tracking.

This is also part of the Singapore government's efforts to address two major challenges facing the country – an aging population and the rising prevalence of chronic diseases. By 2030, Singapore projects that a quarter of its population will be over 65 years old. Meanwhile, the proportion of people suffering from chronic diseases such as hypertension and high cholesterol is also on the rise, accounting for 32% and 37% of the total population, respectively. Before implementing the program, the Singapore government consulted its citizens and found that one of the main concerns was the cost of routine screenings.

The government is addressing this concern by subsidizing people with chronic illnesses to buy affordable medication. People can choose their family doctor; they can change doctors up to four times in the first two years of registration and once a year thereafter.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/singapore-mo-rong-he-thong-cham-soc-suc-khoe-du-phong-post710252.html