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As one of the fastest ageing population in Asia, Singapore faces the challenge of developing public policies to accommodate this changing age structure.
It is forecasted that by 2030, 19 per cent of Singapore population will be over the age of 65, compared to the current seven per cent.
With an ageing population and rapid advancement in medical knowledge and technology, the demand for and the cost of healthcare is on the rise. Singapore’s challenge is to ensure that Singaporeans continue to have access to good and affordable healthcare as the country moves into the next millennium. The government promotes healthy living and preventative care but key challenges remain to keep cost affordable amid increasing demand. The government ensures that good and affordable basic medical services are made available to all Singaporeans through the provision of heavily subsidised medical services at the public hospitals and government clinics. All private hospitals, medical clinics, clinical laboratories and nursing homes are required to maintain a good standard of medical services through licensing by the Ministry of Health.
In Singapore, there is a dual system of healthcare delivery. Eighty per cent of the primary healthcare services are provided by the private practitioners while the government polyclinics provide the remaining 20 per cent. There are approximately 1900 private clinics run by about 1800 medical practitioners.
It is the reverse situation with 80 per cent of the hospital care being provided by the public sector and the remaining 20 per cent by the private sector. There are a total of about 11,795 hospital beds in the 29 hospitals and speciality centres in Singapore. Seventy-four per cent of the beds are in the 13 public hospitals and speciality centres with bed complements between 180 to 2550 beds. The other 16 private hospitals tend to be smaller, with capacity ranging from 10 to 500 beds.
In 1999, the public healthcare delivery system was re-organised into two vertically integrated delivery networks, National Healthcare Group (NHG) and Singapore Health Services (SHS), enabling more integrated and better quality healthcare services through greater co-operation and collaboration among public sector healthcare providers.
This system will minimise duplication of services and ensure optimal development of clinical capabilities. Patients are free to choose the providers within the dual healthcare delivery system and can walk in for a consultation at any private clinic or any government polyclinic.
Singapore has been at the forefront of developing medical tourism. SingaporeMedicine is a multi-agency government initiative aimed at developing Singapore into one of Asia’s leading destinations for international patients. This initiative moves in-line with the development of the biomedical science industry. Tourists from as far as Middle East to neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia seek treatment in Singapore. The city attracted 370,000 medical tourists last year and is targeting one million medical visitors by 2012. In 2004, Singapore’s total market size for medical devices was estimated to be A$700 million. This figure is expected to grow in view of Singapore’s strategic direction as the region’s medical and research hub. Public hospitals are required to use generic products. It is estimated that total over-the-counter (OTC) drugs amounted to US$139 million in 2002 (latest available figure).
Singapore is heavily dependant on imported medical products. With the challenge of rising healthcare costs, there are opportunities for medical devices, disposables, drugs, equipment and health IT systems that are innovative and yet deliver cost and process efficiencies.
With the strong emphasis for world-class healthcare standards, there are also opportunities for education and training for healthcare professionals and patient care for chronic disease management.
The statutory board that oversees the registration and classification of drugs, medical devices and medical equipment in Singapore is the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).
In May 2002 HSA entered into an enhanced technical cooperation and information exchange with the Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA) - Australia, through the Memorandum of Intent for cooperation on scientific and regulatory affairs, signed by HSA and TGA.
This lowered the barriers to entry for TGA listed and/or approved medical devices, disposables, drugs and equipment.
The various channels of market entry strategies for health industry are:
- Direct marketing through local representation
- Appointment of local agents/ traders/ distributors (exclusivity is preferred)
- Tie-ups with local health care training institutions/ healthcare establishments
- (for healthcare education and training programmes)
- Clinical trial collaborations with local hospitals (for therapeutic drugs)
Ministry of Health – www.moh.gov.sg
National Healthcare Group – www.nhg.com.sg
SingHealth Services – www.singhealth.com.sg
Health Sciences Authority – www.hsa.gov.sg
Government Procurement Portal – www.gebiz.gov.sg
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