Managed Health Care.......

There is this managed health care company that reimburses clinics in this manner

For acute cases : a flat rate of SGD$15+ (inclusive of medicines)
For chronic cases : a flat rate of SGD$21+ (inclusive of 1 month's supply of medication)

And there are several GP clinics that subscribe to such plans.

I suppose this is very much polyclinic rates already isn't it?

Why doesn't the government simply do the same for all private GP clinics then?

Offer SGD$15 for every patient? As it is there will be many GPs who will take up the plan.

Also I think those disgusting managed health care companies should close down as they do nothing but siphon money away from the actual health care for patients. Why have a middleman at all? I wonder how much the companies pay the MHC to let the MHC pay the clinics SGD$15 for every patient? How much do these MHCs make? Perhaps they make >SGD$15?

For the matter, the cost of medicines is not cheap. Even if you go for generic drugs the number of medicines and amount of medicines has to be low in order not to LOSE money. So patients walk away with a small quantity of cheap medicines.

SMA's guidelines on consultation fees should be thrown to the dogs! SGD$15 isn't even half of the SGD$30 they recommend GPs charge. It's a mockery!

I think the health care system in Singapore has gone down the drain.

I'm losing it here. I spent an hour talking to a patient who has hypertension, diabetes, weighs 106kg and is 42 kg overweight with a BMI of 38, his father passed away in his 40s due to complications arising from diabetes and hypertension. And after that the fella argued saying he did not want to pay SGD$10.50 for the consultation fees. SGD$10.50!!!! Under the SMA guidelines, the first 20 minutes would be SGD$30-SGD$55, and for every 10 minute block above 20min, SGD$20-SGD$25. So in reality I should be charging SGD$70-SGD$105 for a 1 hour consultation! And yet people argue and shout at me for $10.50!!!

What's the point in being a good doctor these days? Nobody wants to pay for advice. I much rather just talk little or better still don't talk, give some cheap medicines and collect my SGD$15. And some patients ask why doctors don't talk or say much. Well that's because you bloody people don't want to pay for it! DAMN IT!

TO HELL WITH IT! THIS IS SINGAPORE. IT IS TIME I ACCEPTED IT AND BE LIKE EVERY OTHER DOCTOR IN SINGAPORE.

Say little, give more medicine = value for money for the patient, no arguments. They don't know anything anyway.

TO HELL WITH IT!