Reining in the Healthcare Inflation Beast

Jan. 31, 2013 - PRLog -- Highlights:  - This is a contributed article on Singapore’s rising healthcare costs by Dr Jeremy Lim, who has held senior executive positions in both public and private healthcare sectors.

       - Ageing population and disease patterns play a large part in driving healthcare costs up in Singapore as the rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure increase with age and worsening lifestyle habits. According to a survey by professional services firm Towers Watson, rising medical costs are due to three key drivers – new technology, “overuse of care” and the “profit motives of providers”.

       - While new technology is key to improving patient care and quality of life, the challenge is deciding which new technologies are worth spending on and having the courage to say “no” to those that are not.

       - Contributing to "overuse" is the rise of defensive medicine, where many tests are ordered not for clinical reasons, but to comply with preemployment and insurance requirements.

       - The article also highlights the need to revamp the current doctors’ compensation models, where doctors are largely paid on a “fee-for-service” model where income will be higher as a result of more tests and more procedures being carried out and more medicine being ordered.
        - The writer stresses the importance of having a strong commitment from the government and community to healthy living and preventive health, as well as judicious adoption of technology and improved doctors’ compensation model.

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