Healthcare in Singapore

 

 

Singapore’s healthcare system sits on a pedestal as one of the most admired healthcare systems in the world. Not only is Singapore a leading destination for tourism and business, but also for state-of-the-art, affordable and safe healthcare.

The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks Singapore in 6th place out of 191 countries and hails it as the top country in Asia for outstanding healthcare. Singapore's healthcare is also crowned as Asia's regional centre of medical excellence. Singapore's medical facilities are among the finest in the world, with expert medical professionals who have studied overseas.

Composed of 13 private hospitals, ten government hospitals and a number of specialist clinics, Singapore's healthcare system ensures that all Singaporeans have access to affordable basic healthcare, medical services at public hospitals and polyclinics, which are heavily subsidised by the government. But, at the same time, patients are required to co-pay the cost of the medical services that they use.

Singapore has a dual system of healthcare delivery supported by both public and private sector operators. The public providers include the National Healthcare Group (NHG) and Singapore Health Services (SHS). 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 government polyclinic. The clinics are mainly located in housing estates and town centres; a consultation costs between S$10 and S$20 depending on the type of ailment, treatment or prescription given.

Singapore's Ministry of Health regulates all healthcare providers to ensure adequate standards and patient safety. For emergency services, patients can go at any time to the 24-hour Accident and Emergency Departments located in the government hospitals.

Pharmaceuticals are found in numerous outlets comprising of supermarkets, department stores, hotels, and shopping centres. Registered pharmacists are open between 9 am and 6 pm with some pharmacies open later until 10 pm. Tourists will be happy to know that most hotels in Singapore have their own doctor on 24-hour call.

Medisave

In a nutshell, all employees in Singapore, be it Singapore Permanent Residents, Singapore Citizens, and the self-employed are obliged by Singaporean Law to make a payment to Medisave from their CPF (Central Provident Fund) account. The Medisave funds are used to pay for hospital expenses for the contributor as well as their dependents. Dependants are defined as spouse, children, parents and grandparents who are Singapore citizens or Permanent Residents.

Medisave can also be used to purchase Medishield, a medical insurance scheme, or a non-CPF medical insurance like Incomeshield. However, you cannot acquire both Medishield and another non-CPF medical insurance. 

 

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Hospitals

Notable top healthcare establishments are the Singapore General Hospital, the Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the National University Hospital, the Gleneagles and the Mount Elizabeth Hospital. These hospitals also have a specialist outpatient service that has a 24-hour accident and emergency services.

Furthermore, Singapore has six speciality institutes for dentistry, neuroscience, cardiology, oncology, dermatology, and ophthalmology. There are also tertiary hospitals like the National University Hospital and the Singapore General Hospital, which specialise in fields such as renal medicine, cardiology, neurology, hematoma, radiotherapy, oncology, reconstructive and plastic surgery, neurosurgery, paediatric surgery, transplant surgery, and cardiothoracic surgery. Five other public hospitals provide specific specialist services including mental healthcare, maternity, sub-acute care and infectious diseases.

Travellers and expats taking a regular course of medication should be aware that prescriptions from your country are not valid in Singapore. All Singaporean pharmacies require medical prescriptions from locally registered medical doctors. Patients must bring along their prescriptions with them so that the local doctor can prescribe the necessary drugs.

Non-Singaporeans have to pay 30% more than the fees that are charged to citizens and permanent residents.

The government runs 13 dental clinics, and private dental clinics are also available and conveniently located in the city centre and around housing estates.

Healthcare Costs

 The below tables provide prices for most common operations to enable a comparison of hospital billings. You can find below prices per day of standard wards, daily surgery fees, emergency department attendance billing along with average costs for most usual operations like cataract or colonoscopy.

Changi General Hospital

Citizen

Permanent resident

Others

Less expensive standard ward
(Price per day)

39 87 222

Most expensive standard (or deluxe) ward (Price per day)

430

430

430

Number of room
 types

4

4

4

Specialist consultation (first consultation)

35-54

35-54

96-125

Emergency department
 attendance

115

115

115

Cataract 

1,100-1,300

1,100-1,300

3,800-4,200

Colonoscopy 

400-700

400-700

1,300-2,000

Knee replacement 

 

 

6,100-7,300

Address : 2 Simei Street 3, Singapore 529889

Contact details : 6788 8833

 

John Hopkins International Medical Centre

Citizen

Permanent resident

Others

Less expensive standard ward
(Price per day)

43

97

227

Most expensive standard (or deluxe) ward
(Price per day)

571-592

571-592

571-592

Number of room
 types

6

6

6

Specialist consultation (first consultation)

104-134

104-134

104-156

Emergency department
 attendance

116

116

116

Address: 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, 308433

Contact details : 6880 2222

 

Parkway Pantai

Citizen

Permanent resident Others
Less expensive standard ward (Price per day) 240 240 240
Most expensive standard (or deluxe) ward (Price per day) 728 728 728
Average day surgery charges 70 70 70
Cataract 4,560 4,560 4,560
Colonoscopy 1,613 1,613 1,613

Address: 111 Somerset Rd, Singapore 238164

Contact details : 6307 7880

 

Singapore General Hospital

Citizen Permanent resident Others
Less expensive standard ward (Price per day)

35

   
Most expensive standard (or deluxe) ward (Price per day) 428    
Number of room  types 4 4 4
Specialist consultation (first consultation) 37 56 117-149

 Address: Outram Road, 169608

Contact details : 6222 3322

 

St. Lukes Hospital

Citizen Permanent resident Others
Less expensive standard ward (Price per day) 179 186  
Most expensive standard (or deluxe) ward (Price per day) 495 495 495
Number of room  types 3 3 2
Specialist consultation (first consultation) 40 40 50

 Address: 2 Bukit Batok Street 11, Singapore 659674

Contact details: 6563 2281

 

Farrer Park hospital

Citizen Permanent resident Others
Less expensive standard ward (Price per day)     196
Most expensive standard (or deluxe) ward (Price per day)     834
Number of room  types 3 3 3
Cataract     3,300-7,500
Colonoscopy     2,200-3,400

Address: #02-01 Connexion, 1 Farrer Park Station Rd, Singapore 217562

Contact details : 6363 1818 

 

Gleneagles Hospital

Citizen

Permanent resident

Others

Less expensive standard ward (Price per day) 259 259 259
Most expensive standard (or deluxe) ward (Price per day) 6,949 6,949 6,949

Number of room

types

10 10 10
Cataract     5,400 -8,000
Colonoscopy     1,900-3,000
Knee replacement     14,700-31,400

 Address : 6A Napier Road, 258500

Contact details : 6575 7575

 

Khoo Teck Puat Hospital

Citizen Permanent resident Others
Less expensive standard ward (Price per day) 35 75 248
Most expensive standard (or deluxe) ward (Price per day) 420 420 420

Number of room  types

4 4 4
Average day surgery charges 25-35 25-35 85-190
Cataract 900-1,100 900-1,100 2,800-3,600
Colonoscopy 500-800 500-800 1,400-1,900
Knee replacement     6,100-7,300

 Address: 90 Yishun Central, Singapore 768828

Contact details : 6555 8000

 

Mount Elizabeth Hospital

Citizen Permanent resident Others
Less expensive standard ward
(Price per day)
    276
Most expensive standard (or deluxe) ward
(Price per day)
    9,298
Number of room
 types
10 10 10
Average day surgery charges 79 79 79
Cataract     2,500-8,100
Colonoscopy     2,100-3,200
Knee replacement     32,800-40,400

 Address: 3 Mount Elizabeth, Singapore 228510

Contact details : 6250 0000

 

All above fees are in SGD

Sources: ExpatFinder.com and the Singaporean Ministry of Health (MOH)

Latest update : September 2016

 

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