SINGAPORE (July 29): Eight in 10 medical practitioners say Singapore’s healthcare system should focus more on disease prevention, as Singaporeans live longer and are predisposed to chronic diseases at an earlier age. Such diseases include dementia, heart problems, osteoporosis, diabetes and cancer.
In addition, nearly half, or 49% of 203 practitioners surveyed, noted that Singaporeans will find it harder to cope with healthcare-related expenses. A majority of the respondents also believe that the best way to help Singapore cope with the challenges related to an ageing population would simply be to contain the rising costs of healthcare.
These were some of the results highlighted in the recent “Health for 100? Healthy care in Singapore” report produced by The Economist Intelligence Unit and commissioned by insurance group Prudential.
The report noted the importance of enforcing preventive care at a younger age. For instance, only 45% of respondents felt that Singaporeans aged between 25 and 45 were proactive in preventing diabetes — a chronic disease that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong waged a war on in 2017’s National Day Rally. This contrasts with the 66% rate among those aged between 45 and 65, and 69% for those above 65 years, indicating that people become more proactive in looking after their health as they age.
At the launch of the report, panellists Sidharth Kachroo, head of medical portfolio management at Prudential Singapore, and Lim Wee Shiong, senior consultant at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, agreed that more needed to be done to get Singaporeans to stay healthy at a younger age, so as to prevent the onset of chronic diseases.
At the policy level, the report also highlighted a need to refine Singapore’s healthcare system and rethink how medical care is provided, given the inadequacy of medical coverage for longer lifespans.
Two out of five of the survey respondents noted the need for a more integrated system with greater synergy between primary care, hospitals, long-term care and home care facilities to reduce inefficiencies, hospitalisation time and costs. One recommendation was for general practitioners to take care of patients over their life course.
To be sure, the Singapore government has started to better integrate the healthcare system, in particular, reorganising it to allow for closer coordination between the various levels of care.
Additionally, the government has taken a number of initiatives to address rising costs. These include: making Medishield Life mandatory and cracking down on those who do not pay their Medishield premiums; and requiring private insurers to include at least a 5% co-pay component in supplementary medical care policies to discourage over-consumption.
The survey respondents also raised the need for better caregiver support as a key strategy to cope with an ageing population. Changing demographics in Singapore means that the elderly are less able to rely on their family members for care. Only 51% agreed that their patients currently have access to the caregiving support they need. Worryingly, 57% said the cost of caregiving outside of hospitals and clinics is adversely affecting access among patients. And, alarmingly, only 26% of respondents are confident that their patients will have adequate access to caregiving support in 10 years’ time.
