SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health ( MOH) will review advertising controls to allow some healthcare professionals to promote their services safely and responsibly.
Currently, the Healthcare Services Act ( HCSA ) prohibits providers of unlicensed services from advertising that they can” treat” medical conditions. This limitation applies to both regulated and unregulated medical practitioners who are not HCSA owners and operate their own centers.
Given the established standards and management for industries regulated by a professional work or under the supervision of a professional organization, MOH is relooking marketing settings for allied health specialists, like clinical psychologists and speech therapists, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners.
” Certain professions, such as allied health and traditional Chinese medicine, are  , regulated under their respective professional Acts. Their initiatives are low risk,  , because they manage circumstances in accordance with clear standards of practice set , by their professional body”, said Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary in setting out his agency’s saving ideas for the year.
” Even thus, they will still have to maintain the , reliability of their advertising”.
They will still have to subscribe to the marketing requirements under the Healthcare Services Act, which include settings on information and the advertising to maintain accuracy of states.
FAMILY MEDICINE TO BECOME A Specialist
The government will also fully realise home remedies as a skilled specialty in Singapore, given its rising significance in improving populace health.
” This acknowledges the knowledge that well-trained family doctors are able to offer for patients with complicated treatment requires across different age groups”, said MOH.
Information on entry criteria, education requirements and application timeline will be released later this month.
This shift aligns Singapore with Australia, Hong Kong and Malaysia, which now recognise home remedies as a niche.
” With their broad abilities and long-term interactions with patients, family medicine professionals will help more people with complex treatment needs to receive , comprehensive treatment in the community”, said Dr Puthucheary.  ,
In Singapore, the Specialists Accreditation Board determines the qualifications, experience and other conditions, as well as the training programmes which are recognised for accreditation as specialists. The board has approved a joint proposal from the College of Family Physicians Singapore and the Chapter of Family Physicians under the Academy of Medicine Singapore.
Doctors with relevant postgraduate qualifications and experience can still seek accreditation as family physicians under the Family Physicians Accreditation Board.
INTEGRATIVE CARE, EXPANDED CAPACITY
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung also outlined MOH’s plans to adapt healthcare delivery for an ageing population and patients with multiple conditions.
While specialists are currently skilled in managing specific organ systems, principal doctors will increasingly need to lead care teams in coordinating and managing cross-specialty issues to consolidate care for their patients, said MOH.
” Our profile of our patients are changing – generally older, with multiple , health conditions requiring simultaneous management and co-ordination. We are therefore re-organising the workforce”, said Mr Ong.  ,
” This means complementing , specialists who are very skilled in managing specific organ systems, with doctors with , a broader breadth of expertise who can anchor, coordinate, and manage cross-specialty issues for patients”.
With this, patients with complex care needs could potentially reduce the number of referrals and hospital visits.
” Patients will benefit from holistic care coordinated by a care team, led by a team leader who can tap on the collective expertise of the team to meet the patients ‘ care needs”, said MOH.
Mr Ong said that over the last five years, Singapore has expanded hospital capacity by over 6, 300 beds.
MOH had earlier said that it will expand hospital capacity by about 2, 800 hospital beds from now to 2030, adding to the current 12, 000 public hospital beds.
With the addition of a new Tengah General and Community Hospital and Eastern General Hospital Campus, Singapore will have a total of 13 public acute hospitals and 12 community hospitals by the early 2030s.
Seven new polyclinics will also be built by 2030. Five in Bidadari, Kaki Bukit, Serangoon, Tengah and Yew Tee are slated for completion by 2027, and two in Bishan and Taman Jurong will be completed around 2030.
In addition, six existing polyclinics in Bukit Merah, Clementi, Jurong, Outram, Queenstown and Toa Payoh will be redeveloped.