In selecting your Singapore health-care provider, the first question would always be: Which Singapore hospital can provide the best quality care for my particular condition? Closely allied to that is the cost factor.
Singapore has close to 30 hospitals and specialist centres to choose from, so you need to spend some time researching your options. You should be well-informed about the services and quality of medical care you will be receiving before undertaking such a major medical journey. You need answers before you leave for Singapore rather than once you arrive. Indeed, the difficult part may be asking the right questions. Read on and, hopefully, you can arm yourself with relevant answers to numerous questions that you might otherwise overlook.
Much of your information can be obtained online. Major hospitals in Singapore also maintain international liaison offices, with whom you can communicate via 24-hour hotlines or email. When compiling dossiers on each hospital in Singapore you should follow certain rules such as: don't settle for published fees, attempt to verify the competency of medical teams through testimonials and referrals and, if you are on a certain budget, try to unearth any hidden costs. In addition, try to think of any contingencies that may crop up while you are in Singapore in terms of finances and your medical condition.
What's your ailment
The first step to choosing a Singapore hospital is finding one that has the staff, equipment and credibility to treat your particular ailment. You can worry about costs later. The majority of hospitals in Singapore are able to treat most conditions but, as is the case everywhere, some facilities are more specialized than others. So, how do you narrow it down?
- Ask your doctor: Wherever you are in the world, you are not going to lose anything by asking your regular doctor about which Singapore hospital he or she would recommend. Being in the profession, your doctor would either know or could find out for you through professional sources.
- Online search: You can go to the websites of each of the nearly 30 medical healthcare providers in Singapore to ascertain what they offer. You won't go wrong this way but you may spend a lot of time finding out simple information.
Using the Singapore Ministry of Health's (MOH) online bill-size comparison tool is a great way of finding out which hospitals in Singapore treat what. This function at www.moh.gov.sg is primarily for comparing prices, however, it can be a great way to look for Singapore hospitals that can treat a specific medical condition. For example, click on Gastroscopy and you will see that 11 Singapore hospitals or facilities provide this service. Lung cancer, however, delivers only three results, Singapore General Hospital, National University Hospital and Tang Tock Seng Hospital.
Research time: Gather information about relevant Singapore hospitals
Narrowing your choices to three or 11 doesn't solve the problem. You need just one. It is now a case of deciding which of the matching facilities (and don't forget the cost) is best for your needs. This is where you must really spend time on research. The majority of major hospitals and healthcare providers in Singapore have International Patient Services Centres (IPSC). A list of their contact information can be found at www.singaporemedicine.com. Get in touch with the IPSC of each hospital on your list through phone or email with the following queries:
- Confirm that the facility performs the procedure you require. How many such procedure have the done at the hospital? What's their success rate? What has been the average final cost?
- Names of doctors, their background and their experience relevant to your medical condition.
- Name and contact information of the coordinating person from the hospital.
- What documents/reports the hospital requires in order to provide an accurate cost estimate for your medical procedure need.
- Cost of medical procedure along with inclusions/exclusions.
- Itemised price list for everything, from cotton buds to doctor consultation.
- The estimated length of stay in the hospital.
- Is the cost quoted a fixed cost? What happens if there are complications and additional medical care is required or the hospital stay needs to be extended? Is the hospital willing to absorb this cost?
- Under what circumstances would your stay possibly be extended?
- What are the medical risks of the procedure?
- How are you protected against possible faulty service?
- What happens in case of an unexpected medical emergency?
- Clinical outcome guarantees. Will you be cured of your medical condition?
- What happens if the original diagnosis was wrong?
- What accommodation arrangements (hospital ward) will the hospital make? What if you am unhappy with the accommodation? What is the cost of various types of hospital ward accommodations?
- Will you require hotel stay before or after the medical procedure? For how long? Does the hospital have any special price arrangements with any hotels? Is so, which hotel?
- Will the hospital make the necessary visa requirements?
- Can the hospital provide any references related to the treatment of your particular medical procedure?
- Are you able to discuss your medical condition directly with the hospital doctor who will be handling the medical procedure?
The IPSC should be able to tell you the name and contact number of the doctor who is head of the specialist department in the hospital. It might be very important that you get the chance to talk to the doctor directly and get a feel for the doctor. The doctor would also be familiar with costs.
Before you call, discuss your condition with your family doctor. Ask him or her what questions you should be asking the Singapore doctor and what answers you should be seeking. After talking to the Singapore side, go back to your family doctor, review the answers and decide if you require further clarifications. If might also be very useful to arrange a phone discussion between your family doctor and the doctor from the Singapore hospital.
Much of the information you require can also be found through official websites. When researching Singapore hospitals, it would be a good idea to go through the websites of all the potential healthcare providers on your list. Try to look for the following:
International accreditation – Singapore hospitals have a worldwide reputation for quality and transparency. With the Singapore government actively promoting the country as a global medical hub, the hospitals and facilities in Singapore are obligated to perform to a certain level.
The Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation standard is recognised all over the world, and one-third of the JCI-accredited hospitals in Asia are in Singapore. Therefore, you may want to put your trust in one of Singapore's 12 JCI-accredited hospitals, a list of which can be found at www.jointcommissioninternational.org.
Doctor check – The Singapore Medical Council maintains a directory of registered doctors. A doctor cannot practice until he or she has been accepted by this body. Using a search function, you can find a list of conditions and related specialist doctors at www.smc.gov.sg.
Testimonials – These are powerful marketing tools for hospitals and also helpful information for potential foreign patients. You should take the time to go through the websites of all targeted hospitals and look for testimonials from past patients. When looking for comments, pay more attention to those from people who appear to have gained some benefit. Comments such as “I had a wonderful stay, the staff were great” are fine, but it could have been for a simple procedure. Look for testimonials in which patients underwent major procedures, the conduct of doctors were highlighted and there appeared to be some value for money.
Online forums - Hospitals would always post positive testimonials. You can also try some of the public online forums that provide advice and recommendations.
Clinical outcome comparisons – Search the hospital websites for statistics on clinical outcomes. An example can be taken from the National University Hospital, which has produced a pdf file www.nhgiplc.com of its clinical quality measures, comparing local baseline and international success rates.
Achievements – There is no better testimonial than a practical achievement. Singapore hospitals and doctors have reached several milestones over the past few years, including Asia's first kidney-cum-bone marrow transplant and the world's first successful cord blood transplant from an unrelated donor on a patient with Thalassaemia Major. A list of Singaporean medical accomplishments can be found at www.nhgiplc.com.
Add cost factor: take into account medical procedure costs
Researching the quality of medical facilities available in Singapore is the first step. The next phase is to make a decision based on your budget.
As mentioned earlier, the MOH's bill size estimator is an excellent tool to compare prices. This provides comparisons between the facilities that provide similar services based on actual figures submitted by the hospitals. For instance, 12 facilities perform a colonoscopy. On average, the most expensive is Mount Elizabeth Hospital, where 90 per cent of patients paid S$1,988 or less. For Alexandra Hospital, the figures is S$1,215.
This, however, only provides comparisons. For you to plan your trip properly, you need as accurate a picture as possible in terms of the costs involved. For this, you should contact each hospital you are interested in via their IPSC for a breakdown. Check out their websites and you will see that all specialist departments offer treatment packages. But that doesn't mean your bill is fixed because these packages have certain inclusions and exclusions. Find out exactly what the exclusions are and how much you would expect to pay for extras should the need arise.
Decision time: choosing your hospital
After you have done your research, talked to your regular doctor and Singapore hospitals/doctors, read testimonials, considered costs, you would have found a balance between quality and budget. At this point, you will be able to make a informed decision on which Singapore hospital is best equipped to look after your medical needs.
Yes, there is a lot of research required but it is worth the effort. More than 400,000 people went through the same preparatory stages as you and have benefited from Singapore's world-class medical care. The Singapore medical infrastructure and e-governance makes it easy for you.
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