Singapore Medical Association

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Singapore Medical Association
SINGAPORE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION Country Report
Presented by Dr Yue Wai Mun Honorary Secretary
10TH MASEAN CONFERENCE 15 18 NOVEMBER
2001 PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA
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Singapore Medical Association
S
M
A
DEVELOPMENTS
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Singapore Medical Association
MEMBERSHIP

• As at September 2001, the total membership
• of the Singapore Medical Association stood at
• 3,932.
• This represented 68 of all 5,782 registered
• practitioners in Singapore.

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Singapore Medical Association
42ND SMA COUNCIL - 2001/2
President Prof Low Cheng Hock 1st Vice
President Dr Lim Teck Beng 2nd Vice
President Dr Wong Chiang Yin Honorary
Secretary Dr Yue Wai Mun Honorary Treasurer Dr
Chong Yeh Woei Honorary Asst Secretary Dr Tham
Tat Yean Honorary Asst Treasurer Dr Tan Sze
Wee Members A/Prof Vivian Balakrishnan Dr
Foo Chuan Kit A/Prof Goh Lee Gan Dr Lee
Pheng Soon Dr Teoh Tiong Ann Dr Ivor
Thevathasan Dr Tan Chue Tin Dr Toh Choon
Lai Dr Theodor Wee Tit Gin
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Singapore Medical Association
COUNCIL STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION (2001)

• Committees presented their objectives,
  work-plans
• and budgets in the coming year, for approval.
• Discussions on how the association work in
• cooperation with public institutions, the
  media,
• sister and consumer organisations.
• Strategic plans to provide relevant
• services and training workshops
• for the associations membership,
• especially on issues of training
• and support areas.

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Singapore Medical Association
SMA CONFERENCES SEMINARS

• Medical Ethics Convention, 1 4 Nov 2001
• - maids employment medical examination,
  informed
• consent, Bolam test, preparation for court
• Annual Medical Convention, 21 22 Apr 2001
• - infectious diseases,
• antibiotic resistance
• and updates on
• clinical management
• for healthcare
• professionals

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Singapore Medical Association
SMA CONFERENCES SEMINARS

• Medical Ethics Convention, 2 5 Nov 2000
• - medical negligence and litigation, how to
  charge
• professional fees, ethics and etiquette,
  Doc eats
• Doc Lessons from the US Experience

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Singapore Medical Association
SMA CONFERENCES SEMINARS

• Other Seminars Workshops conducted include
• Seminars on Practice Management
• eg. Applications of Marketing Techniques in
  Medical
• Practice Management and Surviving Managed
  Care
• Monthly sessions on Bioethics Health Law
• SMA-Bayer Clinician-Patient Communication
• Workshop
• - held over two weekends in Jul/ Aug
• 2001. Intended to address the need
• for effective communication between
• doctors and their patients.

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Singapore Medical Association
COUNTRY
DEVELOPMENTS
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Singapore Medical Association
PUBLIC-PRIVATE HEALTHCARE SECTOR COLLABORATION

• Faculty Practice Plan (FPP)
• - Selected public sector specialists, of
  consultant grade
• and above, can opt to work part-time in
  private
• practice, outside of the public hospitals
  premises,
• while still under the clusters employ.
• - Specialists will continue to carry out
  clinical, teaching
• and research duties in the public
  institutions.
• - The FPP would thus assist in the
• retention of the services of good
• medical talent in our public hospitals
• and centres.

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Singapore Medical Association
PUBLIC-PRIVATE HEALTHCARE SECTOR COLLABORATION

• The Ministry also intends to provide a viable
  mechanism
• for attracting specialists currently already
  in full-time
• private practice back to part-time public
  sector work.
• - Subsidised patients have access to the
  expertise of
• some of the best private specialists.
• - Private specialists would benefit from the
• opportunities provided by public
  institutional
• practice to keep their medical knowledge
• up-to-date, and to participate in
• research and training.

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Singapore Medical Association
INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK FOR ELDERLY CARE

• To upgrade professional standards of care which
  the
• Ministry will set and audit, and to provide
  seamless care
• for the elderly.
• Step-down health services for the elderly will
  be
• organised around 3 zones, i.e. West, Central
  and East.
• Each zone will be anchored around an acute
  regional
• hospital with a geriatric department that will
  provide
• professional leadership for the development of
  geriatric
• step-down care.

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Singapore Medical Association
INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK FOR ELDERLY CARE

• To ensure that indigent Singaporeans
• are able to afford nursing home charges,
• a 3-tier means testing framework was
• introduced to provide 75, 50 and
• 25 subsidy of charges based on an
• applicants income.

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Singapore Medical Association
HEALTH PROMOTION BOARD

• Established on 1 Apr 2001, its functions are
• - to advise the government on all matters
  connected with
• the promotion of good health and healthy
  lifestyles
• - to organise and implement effective health
  education
• programmes and other activities to promote
  good health
• and healthy lifestyles and to prevent and
  detect diseases
• - to determine, establish and recommend
  standards and
• guidelines on diet and
  nutrition to
• encourage healthy eating
  habits and
• - to provide medical, dental,
  health screening
• and immunisation services
  to school children
• and other persons.

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Singapore Medical Association
HEALTH SCIENCES AUTHORITY

• Established on 1 Apr 2001, its functions are
• - to serve as the national regulatory agency
  to ensure
• the quality, safety and efficacy of
  medicines, medical
• devices, radiation equipment, blood and its
  products
• and all health-related products that are
  available in
• Singapore and
• - to provide specialised
  scientific,
• investigative and
  analytical support for
• vital governmental
  functions such as
• forensic expertise for
  the courts, drug
• and criminal
  investigations and the
• regulation of food
  safety and industrial
• and environmental
  health.

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Singapore Medical Association
SINGAPORES FIRST NATIONAL DISEASE MANAGEMENT
CONFERENCE

• The National Healthcare Group, together with the
  
• Ministry of Health and the Disease Management
• Association of America, USA, opened the first
  National
• Disease Management Conference on 25 May 2001.
• The theme of the conference was
• achieving seamless and quality care
• across the continuum.
•  
• 3 major factors that have spurred the
• development of disease management in Singapore
  are
• - rising healthcare cost
• - disease management as a means for improving
  health
•    - a patient-centred focus to avoid
  fragmentation of care.

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Singapore Medical Association
SINGAPORES FIRST NATIONAL DISEASE MANAGEMENT
CONFERENCE

• Disease management covers
• - disease prevention and control through
  health
• promotion and screening,
• - the use of evidence-based clinical practice
  guidelines,
• and a patient-centred and self-management
  approach,
• within a seamless continuum of care from
  preventive
• to rehabilitative care.
• Therefore, effective disease management is
• viewed as an important tool to keep the
• population healthy and healthcare cost
• under control.

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Singapore Medical Association
TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM)
PRACTITIONERS ACT 2000

• Passed by Parliament on 14 Nov 2000 to
• provide for the registration of TCM
• practitioners in phases, starting with
• acupuncturists.
• Under the Act, those who want to register
• as acupuncturists must take and pass the
• Common Acupuncture Qualifying
• Examination (CAQE).

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Singapore Medical Association
TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM)
PRACTITIONERS ACT 2000

• Transitional arrangements have been
• planned for existing acupuncturists to
• be granted full, partial or no exemption
• from the CAQE based on training
• qualifications and practising experience.
• An Acupuncture Upgrading Training
• Course (AUTC) was started in September
• 2000 to help existing acupuncturists who
• do not qualify for exemption prepare for
• the CAQE. The plan is to register all
• acupuncturists by 1 January 2002.

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Singapore Medical Association
Thank You