Deciding on migrating into another country is quite a very crucial decision. There are a lot of factors that has to be properly attended to, factors that play important roles to your stay in your country of choice. Next to the cost of living, healthcare is the next important thing that needs proper attention.
Singapore is one Asian country that is fast growing, which basically explains why hundreds of emigrants are recorded annually. Singapore, or officially called the Republic of Singapore is basically an island nation that is located on the southern part lf the Malay Peninsula. This nation lies about a hundred and thirty-seven kilometers north from the Equator, south of Johor, then north of Riau Islands. Singapore is only 704 kilometers squared, making it one of the very few remaining city-state around the world and Southeast Asia’s smallest country.
Since its independence, Singapore continued and increased its standard of living when it was under the British ruling in the 50’s. Foreign investments along with island-wide industrialization created a more modern economy based from their electronics and manufacturing trade. Today, Singapore is noted as the seventeenth riches country in the whole world based from the GDP or the Gross Domestic Product per capita. In fact, even if it is such a small country, Singapore has more than US$ 170 billion of foreign reserves. This fact alone simply states that Singapore is not too far away from becoming a highly industrialized country. In essence, it is but normal to hear people contemplating on staying in Singapore for good.
Health Care in Singapore
Singapore has one of the highest medical standards all across Asia. In fact, this highly industrialized nation is Asia’s regional center of medical excellence. The growth in the future will solely be based on a specific total approach while the nation is further developed to become as the regional hub in healthcare and medical services. Singapore generally has an efficient and widespread system of health care. It implements a universal health care system, and co-exists with private health care system.
The well-established healthcare system of Singapore is composed of thirteen private hospitals, ten government hospitals and a number of specialist clinics, each one specializing in catering to the needs of different patients, at varying costs. The Singaporean healthcare system is an amalgamation of compulsory savings from employee/employer contributions put into nationalized health insurance plan with government subsidies. There is also an existing supplemental private health insurance.
Medical patients are also free in choosing the health care providers within the government and the private healthcare systems. The medical facilities of Singapore are considered one of the best in the world. The medical practitioners are also well qualified, mostly trained oversees. Furthermore, pharmaceuticals can be availed from a number of pharmacies and outlets that include department stores, supermarkets, shopping centers, and hotels. Registered pharmacists normally work between 9 in the morning and 6 in the evening and there are some pharmacies that open up to ten in the evening. Also, most hotels also have doctors on call twenty-four hours a day.
What is Medisave?
Medisave is a national medical savings account in the island state that allows citizens to set aside their income into the Medisave account for future medical need use.
Every working person in Singapore (Singapore Permanent Resident/ Singapore Citizen) and the self-employed is obliged by Singaporean law to make a payment to Medisave to his CPF account. These Medisave funds are used in paying hospitalization expenses not only for himself but for his dependents as well. These dependents include the spouse, the children, the parents, and the grandparents who have to be either Permanent residents or Singapore citizens.
Important Health Care Issues for Expatriates
Expatriates who have prescriptions from their local doctors before living in Singapore should be aware that these prescriptions are not valid in Singapore. All the pharmacies in Singapore require medical prescriptions from locally registered medical doctors to fill the prescriptions. With this, patients have to go to registered local medical practitioners and consult for their doctors. Patients also have to bring with him their prescriptions from their place so the local doctors can easily prescribe him for the necessary drugs.
However, if one particular brand of drug is not offered in local pharmacies in Singapore, local doctors may be able to prescribe therapeutically equivalent drugs that won’t compromise treatments of the illness or the disease. Furthermore, patients can obtain new supplies of his drugs from his doctor himself, or obtain the prescription from his doctor and then present it to private pharmacies to have it filled.
Hospitals in Singapore
Private and public hospitals in Singapore provide services that are highly regarded by expatriates, as well as emigrants living in the neighboring countries. Both the private and public hospitals of Singapore are equipped with state-of-the-art and the latest medical equipments in order to maintain the best and the highest standards of medical services. Some hospitals that are noted as benchmarks in delivering top healthcare standards are the Singapore General Hospital, the Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the National University Hospital, and the Gleneagles and Mount Elizabeth Hospital.
Full-fledged private hospitals are Gleneagles, Thomson Medical Center and Mount Elizabeth Hospital. These hospitals are charging a bit higher than those government hospitals that include National University Hospital, Kandang Kerbau, Changi General Hospital, Singapore General Hospital, Tan Tock Seng hospital, and the Ang Mo Kio Community Hospital.
Five of these government hospitals provide services for acute cases. Also, they have a specialist outpatient service that has 24-hour accident/emergency services. Additionally, Singapore has six specialty institutes for dentistry, neuroscience, cardiology, oncology, dermatology and ophthalmology. Furthermore, tertiary hospitals like the National University Hospital and the Singapore General Hospital provides fields of specialization like renal medicine, cardiology, neurology, hematoma, radiotherapy, oncology, reconstructive and plastic surgery, neurosurgery, pediatric surgery, transplant surgery, and cardiothorassic surgery. Additionally, five other public hospitals provide specific functions like mental, maternity, sub-acute care and infectious services. Singapore is also home to centers for special treatments for the eye, skin and heart problems namely: the Singapore Heart Care Center National Skin Care Center and the Singapore National Eye Care.
The Singaporean medical system was captured in a post at Singapore Expat Forum last February 12, 2008:
First, Singapore has the lowest infant mortality rate in the world, and ranks third in life expectancy. The US, on the other hand, is 41st and 42nd. There are some comparability problems on what is included in the infant mortality rate, but Singapore’s ranking is impressive.
Most people in Singapore speak English. In the past I have met English, Irish, and Australian nurses working there, so language probably isn’t a problem.
I was in a ward (something we don’t have in the US any more) in a private hospital. Medications always arrived on time, practically to the minute. If I used my buzzer, and someone wasn’t at my side in about 30 seconds, I received an apology. The doctor came to see me every day, sometimes several times per day. I was not in a life threatening situation. I doubt pay is as high, since I think the internist charged only about $30 per hospital day.
The system is set up on the English model, which has different qualifications, and the levels don’t exactly match up. I do know that nurses trained in that system must take additional courses to work in the US and Canada, but I don’t know how it works going the other way.
My internist did a fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic, so there are doctors there who are familiar with the American system.
Additional Information
Foreigners who seek inpatient services in Singapore can choose either to be warded in varied rooms in private hospitals. For government hospitals, they will choose between a Class A single room and the Class B1 two-bed room. The medical fees in the government hospitals are lower compared than the private hospitals. Non-Singaporeans will also have to pay thirty percent premiums over the fees that are charged to the locals.
One of the concerns for travelers or expatriates is getting an existing prescription filled. You would need to go through the examination with Singaporean medical personnel in order to get the same prescription filled for your purposes.
Basically, the health care in Singapore is not that big an issue especially for those who are planning to migrate there. With so many high-end hospitals that are equipped with top of the line facilities, Singapore is indeed one place worth emigrating
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